READING INSTRUCTION IN ENGLISH AND
IN MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES:
A COMPARATIVE STUDY
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Alfred Newton Smith{ B,A.
*******
The Ohio State University 1968
Approved by
Adviser College of Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I will be forever indebted to Dr. Edward D. Allen,
my adviser, who made possible my years of graduate study at
The Ohio State University and the completion of this
dissertation and the Ph.D. degree. Throughout my graduate program, his example has been an inspiration and a constant
source of encouragement. His unfailing support and confidence have always been positive, propelling inducements to move
forward with optimism. His friendship and personal concern have made these profitable years all the more rewarding.
I would like to thank Professor Melba Woodruff for making available to me material from her first level foreign language text Premier Echelon which is to be published in
1969-
I am particularly grateful to Miss Leona Glenn and
Miss Carol O'Connell, both NDEA Title III consultants for the state of Ohio. Miss Glenn, the state foreign language consultant, read and reacted favorably to my initial proposal.
Her encouragement contributed greatly to the initial enthusiasm and momentum that proved so necessary for the completion of this task. It was also through Miss Glenn's cooperation that I was able to otbain so easily the foreign language materials
discussed in this dissertation. Miss O'Connell, the state reading consultant, provided a number of invaluable sources on the teaching of reading in English. Her favorable comments on the organization and treatment of Chapter II gave me the confidence I needed to continue my work in an area with which
I was not too familiar.
The most notable contribution to this endeavor has been made by my wife, Sandra Smith. The energy that she has exerted to provide favorable working conditions for me in a house with three young, active children is immeasurable. The sensitivity and intelligence which she brought to bear upon the whole experience enabled us both to maintain always a positive, realistic perspective.
iii VITA
March 10, 1937 Born - Evansville, Indiana
1959 ...... B.A., University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
1959-1964 . . Teacher, Denver Public Schools, Denver, Colorado . .—
1963-Summer . Instructor, Utah State University Peace Corps Training Program, Logan, Utah_
1964-Summer . Methods Instructor, Utah State University, NDEA Institute, Logan, Utah
1964-1968 . . NDEA Title III Fellow, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
1 9 6 5 ...... Assistant Instructor, The Ohio State University School, Columbus, Ohio
1966-Summer . Methods Instructor, The Ohio State University, NDEA Institute, Lyon, France
1966-I967 . . Instructor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
1967-Summer . Linguistics Instructor, Akron State University, NDEA Institute, Akron, Ohio
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Foreign Language Education. Professors Edward D. Allen and Paul Pimsleur
Minor Fields:
Secondary Education. Professors Jack Frymier, Kenneth J. Arisman, Kelly Duncan, and Everett J. Kircher
French Literature. Professors Hugh M. Davidson, Pierre A. G. Astier, and Charles E. Carlut
Linguistics. Professors Charles J. Fillmore and Terrence Langendoen TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii
VITA iv
LIST O F TABLES vii
Chapter I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1
The Foreign Language Program Today History of Reading in Terms o f Foreign Language Aims and Methods Research Statement of the Problem Importance of the Problem Definition of Terms Limitations of the Study Description of Remaining Chapters
II. READING INSTRUCTION IN ENGLISH: A REVIEW OF METHODS, RESEARCH, AND SPECIFIC CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES 37
A General View of the Field The Most Important Subject in the Curriculum The Principles of Reading: What It Is and What It Is Not The General Endorsement of an Eclectic Method Reading Readiness A Description of Methods and Review of Research Breaking the Code Reading for Meaning Oral and Silent Reading
v III. READING INSTRUCTION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES: A REVIEW OF METHODS AND CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES ...... 80
Variables in the Foreign Language Reading Process Command of the Spoken Language The Nature of the Writing System The Fit Between Sound and Symbol Past Conditioning to the Graphic Configurations of the Writing System A Description of Methods Breaking the Code Reading for Meaning
IV. METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE READING INSTRUCTION .... 127
Differences Between First and Second Language Reading Reading Readiness Recommendations for the Prereading Stage A Comparison of Methods and Resulting Recommendations Breaking the Code Reading for Meaning Oral and Silent Reading A Summary of Recommendations Conclusion
APPENDIX A ...... 165
APPENDIX B ...... 209
APPENDIX C ...... 232
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 300
vi *SK.
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
Recommendations of the Major Text Books Concerning the Audio-Lingual Time La g ...... 85
Analysis of the Content in the Prereading Lessons of Three French Texts ...... 131
vii CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The Foreign Language Program Today
During the past decade there has been a significant remodeling of the foreign language instructional program within the school curriculum. These instructional changes, which have been generously supported by the National Defense
Education Actj have resulted in increased enrollments, new instructional materials and teaching techniques, extensive use of electronic laboratories and visual aids, and longer sequences and additional language offerings.
Such revisions are impressive and are likely to be acclaimed as dramatic advances, particularly since progress and improvement are so often equated with mere change. However, no revolution comes to pass without producing some ill side effects. The urgent need for new materials brought about the rapid appearance of many textbook packages often incomplete and poorly organized. Laboratories were installed without instruction on their proper use and provision for their regular maintenance. FLES programs were established and longer sequences were offered with little attention to
1 2 articulation from level to level. At NDEA summer institutes teachers were trained in the first six weeks of audio-lingual instructional techniques emphasizing the speaking and listening skills, and little attention was paid to the teaching of reading, writing, and advanced levels. Some of these problems have been treated, but a number of them continue to remain unattended.
The problems of reading instruction have not gone unnoticed. The late George Scherer in his development of the concept of "programmed reading" has done much to foster the production of suitable reading materials. His efforts were primarily concerned with the techniques of grading the vocabulary and structure of the reading text based on previously learned audio-lingual material to insure the process of direct reading in the foreign language. Controlling the reading material is important, but such programming does not solve all of the instructional problems that still persist in the teaching of the reading skill. In an address entitled
"Counter-Revolution in Foreign Language Teaching" given to the
Foreign Language Association of Northern California,
Elton Hocking (1966) made the point that ". . .we very much
need a revolution in the teaching of reading, and generally
in the intermediate and advanced courses, whether in school
or college." (p. 11 ) History of Reading in Terms of Foreign Language Aims and Methods
1869-1927
Proficiency in the skill of reading has always been a highly regarded objective in the foreign language classroom.
Twenty-two of the 126 entries under the section "Aims and
Methods" in An'Annotated Bibliography of Modern Language
Methodology by Buchanan and MacPhee (1928) recommended reading as the primary aim in the foreign language course. As early as
1869 Marcel in his Art of Thinking in a Foreign Language declared
that "the ultimate aim is to give the student command of the
language whether spoken or written, through reading, without
the medium of translation or grammar .... The order to be
followed in the study of a foreign language is, therefore: reading, hearing, speaking, and writing." (Buchanan, pp. 2k?-2k8)
In his book reviewing aims of modern language teaching which first
appealed in 1887, Colbeck "asserted the prior significance of the
ability to read. A child can learn to speak a foreign language
as easily late as early." (Buchanan, p. 93) In Methods of
Teaching Modern Languages, a collection of essays written at
different dates between 1887 to 191^» most of the writers
insisted that "the primary aim in all foreign language teaching
is the development of the ability to read the language. No one
of the writers believes that any pupil really requires a control
over the oral language through classroom teaching, no matter
what method is employed." (Buchanan, p. 97) Sigwalt endorsed the reading aim in his methods book in 1906 mainly for practical reasons: "Everyone has a thousand occasions to read, a hundred occasions to write, and one occasion to speak a foreign language.
It is much more useful to know how to read foreign languages than to speak them." (Buchanan, p. 106) Paul (1921) and Cerf
(1922) both supported Sigwalt's conclusions. Paul, a reader of many languages, remarked that "since most students never need to converse with foreigners, the acquisition of the speaking ability does not justify the effort. The most important objective is reading." (Buchanan, p. 164)
A number of writers of this period who advocated beginning with direct method techniques still supported the ultimate reading aim. Krause, a defender of oral methods, affirmed that "ability to speak a foreign language is to be acquired only as a means to an end - reading ability." (Buchanan, p. 136) Kittson in 1918 expressed the same opinion. (Buchanan, p. 1^5)
Continued support of the reading aim persevered well into the twenties. Churchman represented this trend in his.article
"Courses for Beginners" where he commented that "ability to read a foreign language should be the first aim of language learning, to be followed in order by aural interpretation, written composition and oral drill." (Buchanan, p. 178)
The methods suggested by these and other authors to achieve the reading objective vary greatly. Ten of the twenty-two entries in the bibliography mentioned above favor grammar-translation methods. The other twelve recommend a multiple-skills approach with some initial oral practice in
the language including the study of phonetics and pronunciation.
Intensive and extensive reading are considered equally important
while building vocabulary and idiom knowledge are emphasized in
seven of these sources Skill in oral reading is mentioned
in only two of the works, leading one to believe that silent
reading is the main objective.
The Reading Method
The reading objective received further impetus from the
Foreign Language Study of 192^-1927. The study was initiated and
organized by such leaders as Coleman, Purin, Henmon, and Wood who
were alarmed by the deteriorating state of and widespread
indifference toward foreign languages. The main purposes of the
study were to examine the ills of the current situation, to
conduct elaborate research, and to suggest possible remedies.
The entire study produced seventeen volumes, the most controversial
of which was the Coleman Report. This report revealed that most
students did not go beyond a two year course in languages and
that many of these students did not develop an even moderate
proficiency in the reading and writing skills. (Coleman, 1929i
pp. 127-128) Since the two year sequence was the most common
practice, it seemed logical and desirable to recommend the
development of the ability to read easily and comprehendingly 6 as the main objective of such a course. Carefully graded readers such as those prepared by Bond, Tharpe, and Eddy and word and idiom lists were prepared.
The reading method prescribed by Coleman was similar in many respects to the one proposed by Morrison several years before the Coleman Report appeared. Since this method has been so frequently misunderstood, it is worth summarizing here.
Morrison (1926) speaks of three stages before reaching the
"free reading" level. In the first stage the teacher begins by giving commands and making other utterances in the foreign tongue, the meanings of which are conveyed by gesture, pantomime, and any other needed cues. The students indicate comprehension by carrying out the command or pantomiming in their turn. The teacher writes the sentences on the board and the students continue to respond in the same manner.
Each day, the significant words and phrases are used again but varied in their combinations. The pupil is launched on his career of reading thought content directly instead of being allowed to become accustomed to the notion that learning a language is a matter of learning words and forms in isolation and afterward putting them together in discourse which has a meaning. (p. 485)
In the second stage
. . . longer paragraphs are placed on the board. When the paragraph is on the board, the teacher reads it aloud, distinctly, . . . the class is called upon to read in unison, and finally several individuals are called upon. The teacher asks questions, first about the salient meanings and then questions touching remoter meanings. Questions are asked in the foreign tongue and similarly answered. This process is continued until the class 7
has built up a use vocabulary of perhaps 200 words and a use familiarity with the most common word forms and syntactical pecularities. (pp. 486-^87)
Up to this point the students have not seen a book.
In the third stage the students are given their first readers:
A selection of considerable length, a page or more, is read silently by the class. The pupils are told first to read rapidly, not pausing for unfamiliar words or obscure passages, and they are assured that even on the first reading the larger meanings will begin to appear. They next read silently again, not sentence by sentence, but perhaps by groups of sentences. The meaning begins to clear up and in this way the pupil learns how to search for the sense of the longer passages . . . when most of the class have finished, the teacher quizzes on the meaning. By the end of this period the troublesome words and other usages are pretty likely to be brought to the teacher's attention, and these are then taken up and explained. (p. ^9 2 )
Coleman quoted Morrison directly in his report and recommended his "direct reading" procedures. (Coleman, p. 148)
A similar list of procedures was outlined by Coleman (1930) in his article "A New Approach to Practice in Reading a Modern
Language." The similarities and differences with Morrison are easily noted:
1. Pupils will be trained in pronunciation by the most effective means: phonetic explanation, hearing, reproduction, reading aloud, and the like . . . the presence of "inner speech" appears to make oral training in a reading course as important as in the conventional classroom.
2. The introductory stage will be an oral one, with much more emphasis, however, on recognition by the ear and the eye than on reproductive exercises. Chorus work in the pronunciation of words, phrases and sentences will play a role. 8
3* Pupils should as rapidly as possible develop a recognition vocabulary of 150 to 250 of the most useful words in the language as a prior condition to being presented with any contin uous narrative for practice in reading.
*f. The reading book stage should be reached early and the material for supplementary reading should consist of simple texts "written down" in word range.
5. The teacher must work specifically to eliminate translation by giving directions to pupils and by speed drills followed by questions on the content.
7. A portion of each recitation period is given to organizing recognition knowledge of the essen tials of grammar, but not the major portion or all.
8. As the class advances there should be less need for the use of English by the teacher, except in exposition of grammatical questions, but slower pupils must be allowed to answer in English instead of replying to questions and summarizing with painful slowness in the foreign language. (pp. 113-113)
The controversy that followed the appearance of the
Coleman Report was not so much the result of Coleman's espousal of the reading aim as it was a reaction against the particular method that he proposed. The reading method was sorely misunderstood. Direct method proponents protested that oral language was completely neglected when in effect intensive oral work is emphasized in the first stage of the reading method.
Grammar-translation advocates saw in the method only the disappearance of their sacred grammar study. Believers in
intensive reading accused the method of producing surface readers with shallow comprehension. Helen Eddy (1930) attempted to clear up these misunderstandings:
A reading technique does not imply merely "reading;" it does not exclude all study of grammar; it does not bar the use of the foreign language from the classroom; the reading is not ungraded, unguided, unchecked - particularly in the early stages and with high school pupils; the reading is not all "silent;" "extensive" reading is not synonymous with "superficial" reading; "direct-reading" is not translation or deciphering or "dictionary thumbing;" language mastery is not decried by proponents of the reading method; reading mastery is not advocated as a substitute for speaking or writing mastery but as the most efficacious first stage in the acquisition of these skills. (p. 190)
The evidence concerning the two year terminal course in the Coleman Report was quite irrefutable. Therefore, most teachers accepted the reading aim, but continued using their old methods simply renaming them "reading methods." When Carroll says that
"prior to 19^0 the 'reading method' was the predominant approach to foreign language teaching in schools and colleges," this should not be construed to mean the method proposed by Coleman.
(Carroll, 196^, P* 1078) The number of teachers who were faithful to the procedures outlined by Morrison and Coleman were few. Reading through translation with ample grammar explanation was still the predominant activity in the foreign language classroom. (Bond, 19531 P« 300)
From the Thirties to the Present
There were several movements during the thirties and forties which opposed the existing practices in foreign language 10 instruction. In the field of linguistic science such men as
Boas, Bloomfield, and Sapir were saying that languages are spoken as well as read, and that they have sound systems and grammars of their own that are not adequately described by classical grammatical systems. Intensive language courses were developed during World War II by the Army Specialized Training
Program in an effort to teach Army personnel to "speak" the language, while reading and writing were considered incidental to this main objective.
Although there was great interest on the part of language teachers in linguistic theories and intensive language programs, these activities were viewed as having little implication for the foreign language curriculum. After all, the conditions under which the Army method was used had little resemblance to the classroom. It was out of the question for schools even to consider adopting these methods. Teachers decided to stay on safe ground with their vocabulary lists and grammar rules, and reading methods were perpetuated for another decade. An article in 1951 by Walter Bernard is typical of the sentiment of "back to the reading objective" after the stir of the ASTP. Bernard stresses the return: "... because of strictly limited time only the reading objective is feasible. The reading aim has been reestablished as the most desirable and most practical objective under present conditions." (p. 88) 11 The impact of the first Sputnik on education provided the jar needed to shake the translation exercises, word lists, and readers from the hands of the language teacher. The late fifties witnessed a renewal of interest in linguistics and the arrival of audio-lingual methods of language teaching.
Eeading is by no means dismissed in these "new-key" methods. On the contrary, it is believed that the student's reading potential is enhanced by delaying contact with the written language for the all important initial aural-oral stage in language development. As a matter of fact, to correct the notion that the audio-lingual approach is concerned only with hearing and speaking,
Elton Hocking (1967) pointed out in a recent article in the Modern
Language Journal that "a year or so ago the Modern Language
Association asked our profession to stop using the term 'audio- lingual approach,1 and to substitute 'fundamental skills approach.'"
(p. 26*0 It is hoped that this new term will make it clear that reading and writing, the third and fourth fundamental skills, are thoroughly considered in the method.
The audio-lingual approach introduces reading by having students look at and repeat basic material that they have already learned to say and understand. The teacher models, and the students look at the written symbols and repeat. This activity is followed by some exercises in sound-symbol correspondences.
Eeading beyond this stage resembles the graded reading approach of the reading method, but is termed "programmed reading" and was first introduced by Schere at the 19&3 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Research
The endorsement of the reading method in the late twenties was not made without significant evidence to warrant its adoption. Studies by G. T. Buswell, C. E. Young, 0. F. Bond, and Michael West gave reason for believing that the yield in reading ability could be increased in a two year period if certain procedures were followed.
The studies by 0. F. Bond began in 1920 at the University of Chicago. The first year courses in French and Spanish were transferred from the College of Arts to the School of Education, forming part of the new Junior College which was to serve as an extension of the Laboratory Schools. This new arrangement offered more opportunity for language investigation.
Because most students took foreign languages as a requirement and wished only to develop a reading knowledge, Bond and colleagues set about developing a reading course. By 1928 a course had evolved that employed the reading method described by Coleman. According to the recommendations of Michael West
(1926), graded reading materials were created in which new words and structures were introduced in the context at regularly spaced intervals and re-entered a number of times to assure mastery. A large reading collection was amassed containing not only literary works, but also volumes in the foreign language about other subject areas. This library was conceived for the purpose of permitting large amounts of extensive reading. -
With the use of final achievement examinations, the
analysis of final course grades, and the administration of the
American Council on Education Alpha French Test in vocabulary,
grammar, and silent reading, it was determined to the satisfaction of those involved in the program that the majority of students were developing adequate reading skills. Comprehension and vocabulary scores were particularly good with grammar scores
dragging somewhat behind. Compared to his counterpart in high
schools and other colleges who had received the same amount of
training in other methods, the product of the University of
Chicago reading method was significantly superior. (Bond, p. l6o)
Another experiment in teaching college students to read
French was conducted by C. E. Young and Professor Vander Beke at
the State University of Iowa in 1925-1926. This study had as
its purpose "to ascertain whether a class of twenty-eight second year college students of French would make relatively greater progress in reading power if they were frequently tested for
deficiencies and if suitable remedial measures were taken."
Students in the experimental class were tested on word lists,
idioms, and pronunciation rules contained in the reading material.
They were retested on items that more than half of the class
missed. At the end of the second semester the experimental
group scored significantly higher on a "uniform objective test"
given to all second year French groups. (Coleman, 1929* pp. 151-152) Ik
Michael West's work in teaching Bengali children to read English was highly publicized during the twenties and thirties, for his conclusions substantiated most of the reading method claims. West was interested primarily in the development of silent reading ability, and his experiments were undertaken to discover the most expedient and jshortest way to achieve this end. He recognized the need for graded reading material of suitable interest level. He rewrote stories from readers with words of maximum frequency and re-entered them regularly for review purposes. With the use of this material "the experimental groups showed in 17 weeks a gain in reading power of two and one half years over their initial ability. At the end of 95 days, more than 50% of the class were reading directly from the text."
(Coleman, p. 156)
G. T. Buswell conducted an investigation as part of the
Foreign Language Study which had as its aim "the study of the ways in which students read a foreign language." (Buswell, 1927, p. 5)
Students in beginning elementary, secondary, and college language classes were divided into experimental and control groups according to the method of teaching: the direct reading method (as defined by Morrison) and the indirect translation method. Tests to measure the nature of eye-movements (number of fixations and regressive movements per line), reading speed, and comprehension.
Not only were the test scores of the experimental and control groups compared, but they were also examined in terms of scores 15 made by mature expert readers in the foreign language. It was hoped that the results of these tests would "throw some light upon the optimum age for beginning the language, the rate and amount of progress made during the first two years of its study, and the effects of different methods of teaching upon success in learning to read." (Buswell, p. 5) Buswell reached these conclusions:
1. Judging from the maturity of a student's fundamental reading habits which result from two years of study of French, there is no notable difference between students who begin the study of language in high school and students who begin at the college level. The elementary groups performed significantly lower than the others.
2. The method of teaching a foreign language has a striking effect upon the reading habits of students. The maturity in read ing which results from two years of study is decidedly greater with students taught by a direct method than by an indirect trans lation method.
3. In no case did the median student in the second year group approach closely the maturity of reading habits exhibited by the expert groups of readers. (p. 92)
These early experiments with the reading method make it clear that grading the reading material and concentrating on the written language will result in progress in silent reading. But even when reading is the single objective of the course, Buswell's studies show that students fail "to approach closely" mature reading habits in two years_time. 16
More recent research comparing various methods of teaching foreign languages reveals very little about the reading instruction. While in most studies there are significant differences in students' speaking and listening abilities related to the various methods of instruction, there are contradictory or insignificant results regarding the reading ability. The Agard and Dunkel (1948) survey of achievement in foreign languages, according to traditional or aural-oral methods, indicated better reading "in general" for the traditional groups. On the other hand the Cheydleur and
Schenck study of 1950 which compared army groups trained in intensive speaking programs with college groups taught in more traditional ways showed superior achievement scores in reading for the army group. However, the Scherer and Wertheimer study
(196*0 comparing traditional and audio-lingual methods reports no significant difference in reading ability between the two groups at the end of two years. A recent study in Buffalo by
Joseph Vocolo (1967) comparing groups of students at the intermediate level of instruction, one of which had had FLES and the other only one year of elementary French, revealed significant differences in favor of the FLES group in all skills but reading.
There was no significant difference between the groups in reading. (p. 469)
J. B. Carroll justly appraises recent research on the teaching of reading in foreign languages first by lamenting 17 the dearth of experiments in this area, secondly by commenting upon the failure of existing studies to isolate the effect of different approaches to the teaching of reading, and lastly by showing the uselessness of the information gained from them, that "students succeed in learning to read about as well under new courses as in traditional courses." (Carroll, p. 1078)
There are a number of reasons to explain the fact that different methods of teaching foreign languages have not produced consistent or significant differences in reading ability. Vocolo remarks that his finding "is probably explained by the fact that reading is the skill most readily acquired in foreign language learning." He concludes by adding that "in the study of French, knowledge of cognates would also be a factor in reading comprehension, and reading skills in English would transfer in the reading of French." (Vocolo, p. 467) It may be true that reading is "the skill most readily acquired," but the Coleman Report and Buswell1s studies would indicate that the level of achievement in this skill in a two year program, at least, is modest. In a recent investigation by Carroll (1967) of proficiency levels attained by language majors, he reports the median scores of groups in reading at "minimum professional proficiency." (p. 134)
Buswell would not agree with Vocolo's statement about the transfer of reading skills in English to the reading of 18
French. His experiments with eye-movements, reading speed, and comprehension brought him to this conclusion:
The reading of a foreign language requires more attention to detail than students are in the habit of giving to reading English. It apparently takes some time for this fact to impress itself upon the minds of the students and to convince them that they cannot carry over their reading habits in English to the reading of a foreign language. Genuine progress is not made until the student examines the material with sufficient detail actually to grasp the meaning. When once the meaning is attained, progress is indicated by the gradual overcoming of the crude habits of percep tion and the refining of these into habits char acterized by wider recognition units, more regular procedure across the line, and more rapid recog nition. (p. 48)
Politzer (1964) is also dubious about this process of transfer when he says that the teacher cannot ’’take for granted that in the step from the audio-lingual to the video-space dimension
(reading) the pupil will simply 'transfer' an ability which he has acquired already in his first language." (p. 133)
Other possible explanations exist for this lack of difference in achievement in reading regardless of the general method used in teaching the language. The examinations used to test reading may not appropriately evaluate this skill. There may be little difference in the way the reading skill is taught in the various methods or there may be a lack of any systematic instruction in the presentation of reading. An examination of the approaches in teaching reading in foreign languages make it evident that very few techniques are used. 19
The Working Committee II of the 196^ Northeast
Conference defined the reading function in foreign languages as comprising two operations: 1) pronouncing phrases and
sentences aloud with normal intonation, in response to the
stimulus of sequences of printed or written letters, and
2) following printed or written sequences rapidly for compre hension while the eye scans whole groups of words or sentences at a time. (Michel, 1967, P* 320) There are numerous techniques
for teaching phonics and word identification skills that can be used to facilitate the accomplishment of the first reading operation. Foreign language texts and teachers would do well
to incorporate more of these methods in this initial stage of reading instruction. The second function in the above
definition involves reading for meaning. The understanding of lexical, structural, stylistic, and cultural meanings for adequate literal comprehension, interpretation, and creative and critical reading is essential. The foreign language
classroom has been primarily concerned with the teaching of
specific word and structural meanings for the purpose of literal
comprehension. Little attention has been given to procedures
for teaching interpretative and critical reading.
In spite of the great importance always attributed to
the reading skill in modern foreign language programs, abundant and effective methods to develop this skill have not been used.
The foreign language student has learned to read by having 20
"the book thrown at him," by reading extensively, or by being exposed to some graded materials. In general, instruction in the actual reading operation has not been systematically presented.
Statement of the Problem
To teach effectively any skill, the teacher must under stand the processes involved in the act of performing the skill, determine his objectives, and have at his disposal a variety of sound instructional procedures. The following list of definitions by respected leaders in the field of foreign language education indicates that the skill of reading has been well explained to the teacher in terms of its psychological and physiological operations. "To read is to grasp language patterns from their written representations." (Lado, 196^, p. 132) "Reading may be defined as the rapid fusion of word symbols into consecutive units of thought." (Huebener, 1959, P* ^0) "There are several dimensions to the reading act. Briefly, they can be identified as reading the lines, reading between the lines, and beyond the lines." (Cornfield, 1966, p. 97) "West has analyzed reading into the following processes, for all of which elementary instruction in any language,native or foreign, must provide: word recognition, word interpretation, synthesis, grouping, skimming, repression of speech by insistence on speed."
(Handschin, 19^0, P* 188) Add to these the definition proposed 21 by the 196k Northeast Conference which has already been quoted, and the foreign language teacher is equipped with as complete an explanation of the process as the primary teacher of reading in the mother tongue.
Reading objectives have also been fairly well formulated by the foreign language profession. The following list is a summary of objectives most frequently mentioned in the literature:
1. To develop the ability to pronounce the written
symbols correctly in silent and oral reading.
2. To develop, increase, and continually improve
span of perception, speed of perception,
accuracy of perception, and rhythm of perception.
3. To supplement and assure continued growth in
the audio-lingual skills.
4. To read directly in the foreign language without
translation and with full comprehension.
5* To develop vocabulary and reinforce structures
already learned.
6. To appreciate the subtler elements of style,
i.e. the music of the language, the tone, the
color, the rhythm.
7. To develop an understanding of the culture,
civilization and lives of the people which the
foreign language presents. 22
One sentence by Handschin in 19^0 includes all of the above comments on the reading act and aims: "The aim in and the process of reading the foreign language must finally come to be the same as the aims, and processes involved in reading the vernacular. '* (p. 188)
The place of the reading skill in the sequence of the other language skills, and the amount of time devoted to the teaching of reading in the total language program have also been adequately treated. In audio-lingual teaching it is generally agreed that reading is the third fundamental skill to be taught, introduced after an initial audio-lingual period of several weeks or months. There is still considerable disagreement concerning the length of this prereading period, however, Brooks (196*0 suggests that only 13% of the total instructional time at level one be spent on reading. (p. 127)
At this level, of course, the emphasis is on listening and speaking. The amount of time devoted to reading increases steadily as the student develops his audio-lingual skills.
Extensive reading is practiced at levels three and four, but never do reading or writing take up more class time than speaking and listening. Most of the reading done at advanced levels is silent reading performed outside of class. Class time is spent discussing the material read.
On the other hand, the methods needed for attaining the objectives and for teaching the reading skills outlined above 23 have received scant attention. Vocolo's "transfer” theory has had a lot to do with this disregard for the development of a systematic instructional procedure. Handschin1s opinion about transfer in 19^0 is still a prevalent belief among foreign language teachers: "No special instruction or training in regard to fundamental reading habits should be necessary in the foreign language class. Correct reading habits on the part of foreign-language students may generally be assumed, and the modern language teacher will then merely have to see to it that these habits are transferred to reading in the new language."
(p. 18?)
Teachers receive very little instruction about handling initial reading lessons except for the general steps recommended in most teacher's manuals and methods texts: 1) distribute printed material which has already been learned audio-lingually,
2) model the text by reading it aloud and then have students read aloud, 3) point out some of the most important sound-symbol relationships, drill them and ask for other words in which the same sounds occur, and k) assign studying, rereading and copying the written material in preparation for a dictation. (Brooks, pp. 169-170)
Suggestions for handling reading beyond the beginning levels are even more scarce. Keichmann, for example, speaks of the "methodological puzzle of the intermediate level" referring 2k to the apparent gap in methodology following the audio-lingual stage. He expresses a concern about the heavy stress on literal reading at intermediate and advanced levels which should give way to more interpretative reading at these stages. He laments the lack of a specific methodology to enable teachers to go beyond the literal reading stage. Of the interpretative-type questioning needed to develop these reading skills, Reichmann
(1966) says, "Regrettably, our methods books on foreign language teaching do not treat the question of the question beyond some elementary considerations, thus leaving the teacher candidate more or less unaware of the value and the central role of the question in the instructional process." (pp. 258-259)
In an article entitled "Let's Do Something About Reading
Texts" which appeared in Hispania in 196A-, Stone aptly described the dilemma in foreign language reading instruction, although his comments about the production of reading materials are now outdated.
It seems incredible that, with the surveys made, the national experimental and standardized tests, the research on teaching methods, the vast sums spent on improving teaching, and with powerful text book companies ready to lend a hand, ready to try out any reasonably promising method and afford the researcher, or writer aid and encour agement: it seems incredible in the face of this, and with generations of mediocre or inferior results in the teaching of reading,that so little, if any thing, has been done to find out how to teach reading and to offer materials to promote a practical method. (p. 535) The parallel between reading a foreign language and reading English has already been drawn. This is a common assertion in the literature on the teaching of reading:
” . . . the teacher should first envisage FL reading just as it is considered in the mother tongue.” (Raymond, 1961, P* 2)
”. . . the basic steps or processes of reading in French,
German, English, and Spanish are essentially the same.”
(Larew, 196^, p. 8l0) ”The way to learn to read French or
Spanish is much the same as the way the student learned to read English.” (Stone, p. 535) "• • • the difference between learning to read a foreign language and learning to read the native language is one of degree rather then kind.” (Politzer, 196^, p. 129)
If the processes are so similar, it seems only logical, then, to apply techniques used in mother tongue reading instruction, where a well developed methodology already exists, to the foreign language situation. This idea has been frequently offered as a plausible solution: ”... there are some factors in
English-reading skills which can suggest some conclusions as the most effective ways to develop useful FL reading habits.”
(Twaddell, 1963* P* 13) "In the field of reading, the foreign language teacher would do well to look at what the reading specialists can tell him concerning this discipline.”
(Cornfield, p. 97) "• • • the classroom teacher can with imagination, intelligence and effort, transfer many of the 26 principles and skills he learned for the teaching of reading in English to the teaching of reading in a foreign language."
(Larew, p. 810)
The problem is that few foreign language teachers are specialists in methods of teaching reading in the native tongue.
What is more, such information is not made available to them in foreign language methods books or in the textbook manuals. It is the purpose of this study to examine what effective methods can be used in foreign language instruction as well. Supportive objectives which are necessary to make possible the pursuit of this central purpose are listed as follows:
1. To review the reading skill in terms of foreign
language aims, methods, and materials.
2. To point out deficiencies in existing methods and
materials of reading instruction in foreign
languages.
3- To review reading techniques in native tongue
instruction with the intent of selecting the most
appropriate and applicable ones to foreign language
teaching.
k. To indicate ways of implementing these methods in
foreign language instruction. The specific
objectives underlying this final application of
the above findings will be the following:
a. To show how linguistic reading methods and 27
the "whole sentence approach" can be used in
foreign language reading.
b. {To show how techniques to facilitate word
recognition can be used in foreign language
reading.
c. To show how effective phonic methods can
be used.
d. To show how incidental structural analysis
can be used to improve comprehension of
structural meaning.
e. To show how various direct and incidental
vocabulary building techniques can be used
to increase specific word meanings.
f. To show how silent and oral reading
activities can be made more interesting
and meaningful.
g. To show how a variety of techniques can be
used to determine literal comprehension.
h. To show how interpretative and creative
reading can be developed in foreign
language reading.
Importance of the Problem
The well-formed reading ability in the foreign language student is almost always discussed indirectly in terms of factors other than direct reading instruction. The successful reader today will be the one who has had intensive audio-lingual training before seeing the written word, or the one who has been taught meaning directly in the foreign language without recourse to translation, or the one who reads only what he has learned to hear and say. Formerly it was the student who knew the most vocabulary, the one who was given the greatest amount of reading material, or the one who had mastered the essentials of grammar. Obviously the student's ability to read is implicitly
tied to his speaking and listening competence, to his understanding of meanings and grammatical structures. But definite reading skills need to be developed, and these skills do not just suddenly materialize because of suitable prereading experiences
in the language. Politzer dramatizes this fact with the
following comparison: "The teacher of reading of a second language must realize that the mere fact that we have so many
'reading failures' in the first language proves beyond doubt that reading ability is not merely an automatic extension of audio-lingual knowledge." (Politzer, p. 133) The success of the foreign language student in reading is as dependent on the proper instruction of these skills as on appropriate prereading training.
Perhaps the most important reason for insisting upon a systematic attack in beginning reading instruction is that the second language learner's problems in reading the foreign language are suddenly doubled. In learning to read his native language, the student has to learn the regularities and irregularities of fit between the sounds and symbols of the written language. The foreign language student not only has to learn the sound-symbol associations in the second language, but he also has to strive to suppress the interferences that the knowledge of the sound-letter system of English will evoke. It is presently believed by Mnew-key" proponents that this inter ference is significantly reduced by insisting on audio-lingual mastery before the written representations of the foreign language are shown.
The audio-lingual method proposes the simulation of certain aspects of mother tongue learning in second language acquisition. There seems to be a distinct omission of such an attempt in the area of reading instruction. There exists in
English reading instruction a rich and well tested methodology waiting to be exploited by the foreign language teacher. This study will outline specific techniques for the teaching of reading in terms of successful methods devised for reading instruction in English which the investigator deems are directly usable in the field of foreign languages. It is significant because it deals with the formation of a practical methodology which has hitherto been neglected. Definition of Terms
A careful definition of the term reading is, of course, essential to the understanding of the subject of this thesis.
Reading is frequently defined in terms of kinds (silent reading and reading aloud), and in terms of purpose (skimming and reading for detail), but it is in terms of processes that we must look at it here. The definition of the reading function offered by the 196*f Northeast Conference is the meaning which this author accepts and the one which is most commonly proposed.
Russell and Fea (1963) in their chapter on the teaching of reading in Gage's Handbook of Research on Teaching provide a similar definition: "In essence, the reading act is divisible into two processes: (l) identifying the symbol, and (2) obtaining meaning from the recognized symbol. Without both processes, the reading act is incomplete." (p. 868)
There are basically two different approaches in handling the first process in the above definition. With the whole word or sentence approach the non-reader is taught to recognize at sight whole words, longer phrases, and even entire sentences.
This is usually a preliminary procedure used for a short time to provide the background for the eventual teaching of phonics.
However, with certain linguistic approaches, this whole sentence method is the core of the entire beginning reading program.
Another approach to word attack is phonics. This term generally refers to "the application of phonetics to the working out of 31
word pronunciations while reading.” (Smith, 19&3* P* 197)
Phonic instruction entails learning the sounds of letters and
letter combinations.
Since a number of linguists involved in reading
instruction advocate somewhat different ways of teaching, it
is necessary to look at these various linguistic methods. All
proponents of linguistic approaches consider the spoken word as
primary and reading as secondary. One linguistic approach to
reading proposed by Bloomfield and Fries concentrates on the
phonemic aspect of the language. The student masters one
phoneme at a time through careful control of the phoneme-grapheme
learning. Another linguistic approach advocated by Lefevre
encourages the reading of entire meaning-bearing language
patterns at the sentence level from the very beginning of
instruction. Lefevre declares that the single word is a minor
language unit, an unstable element at best. Fluent reading will
occur only when attention is directed to the significant structures
of the language: intonation patterns, grammatical and syntactical
word groups, clauses, and sentences. (Lefevre, 196k , p. vii)
Gibson and Richards (1957) have combined these approaches by
beginning reading instruction with sentences, but at the same
time developing systematically the phoneme-grapheme identification.
The second part of the definition of the reading
processes involves the idea of reading for meaning. There are
different kinds of meaning-getting skills. First one has to know 32
the meanings of specific words, or more appropriately the specific meanings of words used in certain contexts. The meaning-getting skill which involves deriving the primary, direct, "literal" meaning of a group of words, phrases, ideas, or sentences in context is called comprehension or more precisely
"literal comprehension." There are also "thought-getting" skills in the process of reading for meaning. Interpretation is one
such skill. Nila Banton Smith (1963) gives a clear explanation of the term:
This term has been used to include those skills necessary in getting deeper meanings in addition to those obtained by simple literal comprehension. Such skills are those that are concerned with supplying or anticipating meanings not stated directly in the text, such as drawing inferences, making generalizations; reasoning cause and effect; speculating on what happened between events; anticipating what will happen next; detecting the significance of a statement, passage, or selection; making comparisons; identifying the purpose of the writer and the motive of the characters; associating personal experience with reading content; forming sensory images; experiencing emotional reactions. (p. 262-263)
Interpretation is often named "creative reading1 in the
literature on reading instruction and is included as one of
the skills involved in critical reading. Interpretations of the
term critical reading are quite varied. In the narrowest sense,
the term is reserved by some to refer only to the identification
and evaluation of propaganda techniques in informative writing.
Others use the term as a catch-all to designate all reading
skills, including certain study skills, beyond the literal 33 comprehension level. The aspect of critical reading which distinguishes it from other reading skills is the evaluative process "which requires the reader to make rational judgments about both the content and style of writing based upon valid criteria." (King, Ellinger, Wolf, 1967» P» v ) editors of the book Critical Reading (King, Ellinger, and Wolf) describe the kinds of materials to which this process can apply:
Critical reading is applicable to all kinds of materials, but the reader varies the criteria he uses for analysis and evaluation according to the type of material and his purpose for reading. When reading informational materials, for example, he may be primarily concerned about accuracy, clarity, and authority. In reading persuasive writing he will probably search for validity and reliability. In reading literature, he will be sensitive to the relationships between form and content; the development of character, theme, and symbol, and the multiplicity of meanings in selections. (p. v)
This study will include an examination of methods involved in both the reading processes described in the definition given at the beginning of this section. It will, therefore, treat word recognition techniques, phonic and linguistic methods, and a variety of techniques used to facilitate the "meaning-getting" and "thought-getting" skills in reading for meaning. Techniques
for critical reading concerned with the analysis and evaluation of propaganda, news reporting, and current events-type material will not be treated. Limitations of the Study
This study centers on the methods of teaching reading.
The physiological and psychological aspects of the reading process will be treated only as they determine or influence instructional techniques. The selection and production of reading materials will be dealt with only in terms of implications of the methodology proposed. The pertinent problems of ability grouping, remedial instruction, and interest levels will be handled incidentally in the same manner. The focus is on what the teacher does or can do in the classroom to_develop the reading skill per se.
The second language of the investigator is French.
Therefore, the foreign language texts examined and the examples given to illustrate the implementation of various methods will be in French. There will also be certain reading problems that are particular to French that will not apply to other modern languages. However, it is hoped that the investigation will be sufficiently generalizable to be of use to all language teachers.
There will be no "action research" involved in this project. The investigator has tried and tested during his eight years of teaching experience many of the techniques that will be described. It is not the purpose of this study to prove or to test, but rather to present the foreign language teacher with new possibilities, to widen his perspective, to broaden his approach. The numerous techniques explored in this study should 35 certainly be treated in carefully controlled experimentation and research.
The findings of this study are not intended to be prescriptive in any way. The author wishes only to describe possibilities. When suggestions are made, however, they will be based on dependable research which will be quoted and on the recommendations of authorities in the reading field.
Description of the Remaining Chapters
Chapter II will be a review of reading instruction in
English. There will be an investigation of the various approaches presently advocated to develop skills in the two processes of the reading act. A brief review of the research will follow the description of the method to indicate the extent of its use and its effectiveness. Finally the specific classroom techniques suggested by each method will be explained and illustrated in
Appendix A.
Chapter III will essentially repeat the content of
Chapter II, this time regarding foreign language reading instruction. Included also will be an analysis of various foreign language texts to determine the extent to which these methods and techniques are developed and used. Examples of these techniques will appear in Appendix B. 36
Chapter IV will be a comparison of English and foreign language reading instruction based on the preceding analyses.
Areas of reading instruction that are not sufficiently developed in foreign language teaching will be identified, and the techniques devised in English to provide for these areas will be reviewed again. The most appropriate of these techniques will be specified as suitable for adoption in foreign language reading. The criteria for selection will be determined at the beginning of this chapter when the differences between first and second language reading are discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages of the second, language reader are surveyed. Model lessons and examples of exercises will be presented in Appendix C. CHAPTER II
READING INSTRUCTION IN ENGLISH: A REVIEW OF METHODS,
RESEARCH, AND SPECIFIC CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES
A General View of the Field
The Most Important Subject in the Curriculum
Reading is the first R of the basic subject trio. It
has good reason to claim this initial position. The teaching of
reading has long been considered the first and most important
task of the school. As a result, school journals abound with
research in this area; the ranks of the experts on reading are
overflowing; there are more books written on the theory and practice of teaching reading than any other subject; reading
instruction has seen more shifts in method, more proposed
panaceas over the years than any other field in the elementary
curriculum; text book companies find in their beginning reading
materials the greatest source of profit. (Lee and Allen, 19(>3»
p. v)
A survey of the field of reading instruction in English
is most likely to leave one confused and bewildered. Much of
the research is contradictory and inconclusive if not deliberately
distorted to favor a vested interest. (Bliesmer, 1965> P« 500)
37 38
The opinions of experts vary widely. The different methods proposed and the theories upon which they are founded are often diametrically opposed. There is cut-throat competition among the publishing companies to serve that largest of all school audiences - the first graders. The war of the methods and texts is vividly portrayed by Roma Gans (19&5):
A battle rages over who will win the right to establish his brand of beginning reading mater ials and methods upon the millions of first grade children who enter school each fall. Some pub lishers wage their campaigns with demonstrations, free samples, and free lecture services to teach ers; others work more subtly through entertaining school administrators and whole staffs at teas and parties, "no selling included." Still others approach members of school boards and influential citizens, sometimes even resorting to alarmists' tactics concerning the status of reading instruc tion in the schools of the community. (pp. 36-37)
The state of this highly active and ever changing area of instruction should not be looked upon as dismal or hopeless because of the divergence of opinion and division of interests
that exist and have continually existed on all fronts of its
development. On the contrary, the outgrowth of all this activity has been a rich, well developed, varied methodology and a wealth
of materials and resources unmatched in any other subject.
It is perhaps a foolish, if not impossible, undertaking
to attempt a review of the field of reading instruction in
English in one brief chapter when within a single month volumes
are added to the already crowded shelves,devoted to this
subject. This chapter will be subject to the same limitations 39 already noted in the first chapter. It will examine the most common methods suggested to deal with the two-fold reading process, i.e. identifying the printed symbol and grasping its meaning. It will review a significant amount of research to indicate the effectiveness of each method. Finally specific classroom techniques will be described and illustrated. These activities appear in Appendix A.
It cannot be hoped that even with the restriction of the subject of this chapter to the single topic of reading methodology any degree of completeness can be obtained. The treatment must necessarily be selective and in certain areas superficial. The methodology treated here has been regarded from the perspective of implications for foreign language teaching, and this point of view has determined, in large part, the selection and/or omission of certain techniques and methods.
The Principles of Reading: What It Is and What It Is Not
The disagreement that exists among reading specialists concerning the definition of the reading process is based more on the semantic difficulties resulting from the endorsement of a particular method than anything else. Whole word proponents, advocates of beginning intensive phonics, and certain linguists are often accused of reducing the reading act to a process of decoding the sound-symbol relationship without proper regard to meaning and comprehension. When Fries (1963) says, "Learning to read means developing a considerable range of high-speed ^0 recognition responses to specific sets of patterns of graphic shapes,11 he is not suggesting that this process is devoid of meaning. (p. xv) To think this would be to assert that meaning and communication are absent from the speech act of which reading, according to Fries, is only an extension. If decoding seems to be of primary concern to linguists such as Fries, it is because they believe that the sound-symbol code has to be broken first to enable the reader to restore the written secondary form of language to its meaningful primary form - speech.
Reading has frequently been called a passive skill in order to distinguish it from speaking and writing. The word
"passive” is used to indicate that there is no original oral or written production of language by the reader. The words he reads are not his, but those of another; he is not required to produce any language of his own. Numerous objections to the use of this term have been recorded in the literature. In 1917 Thorndike defined reading as thinking. (Smith, p. 260) Reading in this sense cannot possibly be thought of as passive since it involves the active processes of comparing, inferring, interpreting, reorganizing, evaluating, and reacting to what is read.
Reading as a mental process rejects another narrow concept of the act as a mechanical skill consisting of certain physical movements. To read one must develop left to right eye movements. To read skillfully one must attain suitable eye spans kl to take in whole thought groups and reduce the number of fixations which will improve speed and, hopefully, comprehension.
It is true that the eye must be well trained. But it must be remembered that the! eye is simply the instrument that transmits the written symbol to the mind. Its efficient functioning is essential to the reading act, but it is only one link in the process.
McKee (1966) reacts to the common misconceptions and narrow interpretations of the reading act in these words:
Some people seem to believe that the act of reading is a physical process rather than a mental one, that it is done with the eyes rather than the mind, that it is passive rather than active, and that the reader needs to exert little effort as he reads. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Understand ing what a writer means by a given expression is always an active mental process and at times a complicated one in which the reader must work diligently. (p. 2 8 )
It is common for supporters of one method to accuse others who espouse another of misunderstanding the reading act and of embracing some of the narrow and incorrect conceptions listed above. A thorough examination of most of the current methods and their ultimate objectives will reveal, however, an adherence by all to the following general principles: That reading is not
1. spelling or writing, although simultaneous activities
in these skills are thought by many to facilitate
progress in reading. saying words or sounding out letters, although
these are considered by many as essential skills to be
achieved before adequate reading competence can
be attained.
a passive, mechanical process.
the oral pronunciation of a series of sentences,
although the value of oral recitation to check
sound-symbol mastery and comprehension are
recognized.
repeating written material after the teacher,
although such repetition can be used to help
emphasize the larger supra-segmental elements
of intonation, pitch, and stress, ading _is_
the active, mental process of getting meaning
from written symbols.
a thoughtful act involving the use of many skills
at one time including recognizing basic sight
words, using phonetic analysis, using structural
analysis, using contextual clues, comprehending
the literal meanings, interpreting the inferred
meanings, and reacting to and evaluating the total
experience. (Umans, 196^, P» 13)
a long-term developmental process extending over a
period of years. (Heilman, 1967» p. 10) ^3
4. silent as well as oral, and therefore much
practice needs to be given to develop correct
silent reading habits.
The General Endorsement of an Eclectic Method
The disagreements found among reading experts, then, are not so much disputes over what reading is or the skills it comprises, but rather the sequence and the manner in which the skills are to be developed and presented. Should the student begin by studying sound-symbol correspondences, by learning to recognize a set-of basic sight words, or by seeing and repeating entire sentences? At whatever point phonic instruction is begun, should it be intensive or incidental, synthetic or analytic, inductive or deductive? How can comprehension best be determined and at what level should interpretative and critical reading skills be developed? Age and readiness for these skills have been of some help in determining the sequence of presentation, but none of the evidence is really conclusive. There is still as much debate today over methods as there was thirty years ago.
As a result, an eclectic approach is recommended by many scholars in the field. Gans (1965) warns of the dangers of a one method approach:
Doubtlessly,; in each new method and material pro posed there are features which would help some children. But the claim that one procedure is best for all is rash nonsense. To establish one way of meeting children's varied reading needs is as sensible as establishing one size, one style, and one brand of shoes for all of them. (p. 37) kk
Austin and Morrison (1963) in a large survey of the practices of reading throughout the nation indicated the prevalence of a varied approach and described the position of college instructors on the issue: ". . . an overwhelming majority of instructors at the college level express a firm commitment to a 'balanced' or 'eclectic1 approach." (p. 27)
Based on his review of research on word attack skills, Mills urged that teachers "familiarize themselves with and make use of all word attack skills." (Gray, 19^0, p. 1123) Smith sees in an eclectic approach the best way to reach the ultimate desired competencies:
The preferred method is an eclectic approach in which an attempt is made to develop interest in reading; to develop the attitude that reading is a process of getting meanings; and to develop some facility in applying the concept of reading in larger thought units rather than reading one letter or one word at a time, a concept which is a basic consideration in laying the foundation for fluency and rate. (p. 19*0
McCullough, Strang, and Traxler (19&7) show that generally the research is favorable to the eclectic approaches of the basal readers combined with phonic and linguistic instruction:
Research shows that a combination of methods has an advantage over any single method. Actually 95% of the teachers in the first three grades and 88$ in the middle grades use single or multiple basal readers with their eclectic methods of teaching. When the basal reader program adds phonic or linguistic instruction, the results are usually better than those obtained with the reader alone. (p. 237) Most basal reader methods begin by teaching a basic
sight vocabulary. When enough words containing a certain
sound-letter relationship have been learned to enable students
to generalize inductively about the element, then phonics instruction is begun. Students also receive practice in using context clues, picture clues, and structural analysis. (Russell,
1963, p. 877)
Although a number of separate approaches will be described and discussed in this chapter, there will be no endorsement of any particular method. Rather the spirit of trying anything that has been proven effective will be encouraged, and an eclectic outlook is recommended.
Reading Readiness
It has already been stated that the reading act is a complicated process involving the use of many skills at one time.
The beginning reader may not have sufficiently developed a number of these skills by the time he starts school. A prereading period is essential to assess the child's readiness and to develop the skills that he will later need for maximum success in reading. A good readiness program is systematically planned and usually includes activities to encourage growth in the following areas: (l) auditory discrimination - the ability to perceive all the speech sounds, to identify words that have the same initial sounds, ending sounds, that rhyme, (2) visual k6 discrimination - the ability to distinguish shapes and sizes of objects and then to learn the letters and their names,
(3) the left-to-right habit - the ability to control eye-movements and to develop the left-to-right sequence, (*0 the symbolic process - the ability to understand that spoken language can be represented graphically in print and that this print can
"say" something. Children master the skills at different rates, and, therefore, continued instruction in them is provided throughout the first year of the beginning reading program.
A Description of Methods and Review of Research
Breaking the Code
The first task facing the reader is to learn the sound-symbol code. The difficulty of this task depends upon the nature of the language's writing system. Alphabetic systems in which single letters or combinations of letters symbolize the phonemes or morphemes of the language are easier to learn to decode than systems which use symbols to represent whole words or syllables. Also languages whose writing systems achieve a near one-to-one grapheme-phoneme relationship present fewer problems to the beginning reader. (Scott, 1966, p. 537)
English uses an alphabet system of. coding the spoken language, but the sounds and letters are not consistently matched.
This irregular sound-symbol correspondence increases the number of instructional problems. A number of procedures and methods have been devised to help the student discover the code of the
sound-letter relationships. One way of handling the problem is
to change the writing system itself to a simpler and more regular
form. Another procedure is to control the student's exposure to the phoneme-grapheme associations so that he systematically learns
the regular spelling patterns and then the irregular ones in a
certain predetermined order. A third approach is to expose the
student to whole phrases, and sentences with no systematic ordering, letting the student discover the sound-symbol code
through his own observations and analogies. Finally, a number of word-attack methods have been developed to help the student recognize individual words. This last approach includes such
techniques as sight word recognition, phonics, picture clues,
context clues, and structural analysis.
srws - the latest thing
A number of "simplified and regularized writing systems"
(called swrs in the literature) have been devised to replace the
traditional orthography (called t.o. in the literature) in the
initial stages of reading instruction. These are not methods of
instruction, but rather writing systems that have been proposed
to simplify the first task of breaking the code. These systems
are only temporary aids which are eventually withdrawn as the
transition to the traditional English spelling patterns is made.
Experimentation with such systems as "English the New Way," "Diacritical Marking System," "Regularized English," "Unifon,"
"Phonetic Color," "Words in Color," and "Initial Teaching
Alphabet" have been going on for a number of years. Of all of these, the "Initial Teaching Alphabet" (called i/t/a in the literature) and "Words in Color" are the most frequently used systems.
Recognizing that English spelling presented a severe handicap to beginning readers, Sir James Pitman conceived of a modified and augmented Roman alphabet that would represent more regularly and consistently the sounds of the language. He has changed slightly the appearance of certain letters and has invented others to produce a forty-four symbol alphabet. The symbols and the sounds they represent .are indicated below: a X a . < an b c (Ji
a t ate a r m all bed cat chap • d e 66 f g h 1
dog e I m even foX S L ° hat U • ie J k 1 m n E)
i c e i« jg kite like mad note r inj 0 ce CO GO ai ou P £.n over took soon o i 1 out £U t r r s s lh 3 t
run h e_r _s i t i s shoe measure top th rti u ue V w wha thin then H.P use vase web i y z r€t zip The first experiments with this writing system were begun in
England in the early sixties conducted by the Reading Research
Unit in London directed by John Downing. The preliminary results have been encouraging, but the plans are to continue the research until 197^ so that long term effects can be observed.
It is important to remember that i/t/a is not a method, but a writing system. The most predominant method used with i/t/a in England has been the eclectic basal reader approach emphasizing the establishment of a basic sight vocabulary before phonics instruction is begun. All the reading material is printed in the i/t/a which is used exclusively until it is decided that that student is ready to transfer to traditional orthography.
Pitman has recommended that the transfer not be made until
(1) the student is so familiar with the word forms that with a mere glance and minimal cues he can identify the word, and
(2) he can make extensive use of context clues. (Downing, 1 9 6 7 , p. V?)
Thousands of students in the United States have received initial reading instruction using the i/t/a. Results of the research conducted in this country have been inconclusive, generally indicating that using i/t/a does not produce significantly better readers. (Gilloly, 1966, pp. 5^5-553)
A study by Hayes (1966), however, showed that methods using either i/t/a or intensive phonics instruction produced silent reading achievement which was significantly higher in word reading, word study skills, and spelling. (p. 628) In general it is agreed that American research on the use of i/t/a cannot lead to any definite conclusions and that replicative and longitudinal evidence is needed. (Cutts, 196^, P- 21) The two main conclusions reached thus far according to the evidence reported by British research which is based on four and five years of experimentation are: (1) "i/t/a generally leads to superior t.o. reading and t.o. spelling by the end of the third year of school. In word recognition the i/t/a student is five to six months advanced in reading t.o. (2) This success of i/t/a in improving t.o. literacy skills comes only after a plateau or even regression in the growth of such skills at the stage of transition from i/t/a to t.o." (Downing, 19&7i P* 263)
Words in color
Dr. Caleb Gattegno has tried to simplify the beginning reader's problems with the irregular spelling of English by using color cues in the initial stages. He has not altered the writing system in any way. He simply represents a phoneme by giving a single color to all the letters and letter combinations that stand for that sound. "Thus, the a£ in way, the eigh in weigh, the _ai in wait, and the a in vane are all considered to belong to the same sign group and are, therefore, given the same color." (Gattegno, 196^, p. 8) 51
The students learn the sound-symbol associations with the help of color from wall charts. The written material they read in the books that accompany this method is not in color.
When students encounter difficulty, they are referred to the charts for help.
This approach must be considered a method, since a specific technique for intensive phonic practice has been developed. Gattegno describes this process which he calls
"visual dictation":
First the teacher writes the symbols in color on the board or uses charts already prepared. Then he uses the pointer to point at any one of these. At the same time he tells the pupils that the rules for this game are that if the pointer moves quickly from one character to the other, the pupils should utter the resulting combination of signs; if the pointer pauses, the combination is completed and a new combination is about to start. The teacher forms syllables by moving the pointer from one letter to another quickly; he doubles a letter by tapping the board with the pointer twice under the appropriate letter. He thus generates words that are uttered by the learners and con trolled for correctness either by themselves or by the teacher. (p. 1 3 )
For a description of other techniques used with this method, see Appendix A pages 166-167 .
There has been relatively little research reported on this method. Gattegno*s claims are that it is highly successful.
He used the method with other languages as well and has tried it on illiterate adults. He reports cases in which individuals have become completely literate within a ten week period.
Heilman thinks that the thirty-nine colors used might make the learning process quite confusing:
In absence of letter configuration clues, many adults have difficulty in determining whether certain color samples are actually the 'same or different.1 It is likely that some six-year olds also have trouble in discriminating between colors which are very much alike. (p. 126)
Professor Goodlad sees in the method's values an excellent remedial process. (Hinman, 19&6, p. 190)
In summary, controlling the written medium itself either by modifying the existing system or by supplying additional visual aids such as color has been suggested‘and tried as a way to help the reader master the sound-symbol code. Cutts
(196*0 warns of the dangers of such devices when he says,
"Every effort should be made to make children aware of
differences and likenesses in words without at the same time utilizing a crutch or artificial aid which may later be an
interference to ease of reading and have to be unlearned."
(p. 27)
The linguistic methods of Fries and Bloomfield
Another way to facilitate the process of getting the
sounds from the printed page is to control the presentation of
spelling patterns in such a way that the reader learns to recognize step by step the phonetic values of the regular and irregular features of the writing system. This is the method proposed by the linguists Fries and Bloomfield. The first step is to learn the names of the letters of the alphabet (not the sounds, just the names). The first reading is drilled with a group of monosyllabic words illustrating the phonetic value of this spelling pattern. For example, the short sound of the vowel a is usually the first sound introduced. This sound is drilled in such words as can, fan, Dan, pan, and man. The words are shown to the pupils who repeat them after the teacher and then spell them by naming the letters. Words are then combined to make simple sentences such as "Pam can fan Dan." This process continues with all the short forms of the vowels. In the beginning materials only regular patterns are presented; therefore, no words with silent letters, none with double letters, and none with combinations of letters having a special phonetic value are introduced. (Bloomfield, 1961, p. 39) These spelling phenomena are presented later as irregular patterns.
These irregular forms are then contrasted with regular ones and are drilled in minimal pair exercises to fix the spelling patterns or to establish the "phoneme-grapheme habit." An example of such a drill would be to contrast the following pairs of words: pan/vane, van/vane, can/cane, man/mane, etc.
There is never any discussion of the sounds that the spelling patterns represent. It is believed that the systematic arrangement of these patterns will enable the student to 5*f generalize about the spellings and their corresponding phonetic values. Fries (19&3) eleborates, "We are concerned here with reading only, not with writing. We are not concerned with the productive spelling habits necessary for the writer. Our approach here centers upon developing the habits of high speed recognition responses to English spelling-patterns, that constitute the process of reading." (p. 189)
When these linguistic methods are compared with eclectic basal reader approaches or basal readers with added phonic instruction, either no significant differences are noted or the basal reader methods are favored. (Sheldon, 1966, p. 578; Schneyer, 1966, p. 6 5 0 ) However, when a basal reader program adds a modified linguistic approach, some reading gains over traditional basal reader approaches are observed.
(McCullough, Strang, Traxler, 19&7, P- 225)
Linguistic materials that adhere to the principles and methods of Fries and Bloomfield have been highly criticized.
McKee comments on the dull and uninteresting nature of the reading content forced upon the materials by the adherence to the order of the patterns and the monosyllabic words used:
It is the author's contention that in general practically all these materials place far too much emphasis upon letter-sound associations for vowels and provide in the pupil's first books reading matter which does not stand for familiar talk and which is more insipid and barren than is the content of most contemporary preprimers and primers, now so vehemently criticized for lack of interest appeal and substance by some linguists themselves. (p. 192) 55
The total faith in analogy and complete avoidance of the formulation and statement of spelling rules is also generally reproved. (Durkin, 19^5* P* 97)
The structuralist's approach
Up to this point, all the approaches described have considered "breaking the sound-symbol code" as the initial task of the reader and concentration on the small elements of letters or spelling patterns and their relationships to sounds as the natural way to discover the code. Structural linguists like
Carl Lefevre would treat the mastery of the sound-symbol system as an incidental product of attention by the learner to the larger patterns of complete sentences and phrase groups.
According to these linguists, from the very beginning of reading instruction the student's attention should be directed to "the larger constructions that comprise the flow of speech and bear meaning." (Lefevre, p. xvii) These larger constructions include such elements as intonation patterns, word order, structure words, and word-form changes. Lefevre insists that
"the first task of reading instruction should be to give pupils a conscious knowledge of the language patterns they have mastered on the unconscious operational level." (p. 6)
Indeed, to begin with any construction smaller than the phrase group is, in the opinion of these linguists, to limit severely the learner's reading potential. If the beginning reader is asked to sound out words by analyzing letters and spellings, he will become a "word caller" with poor sentence sense and minimal comprehension. With this method the student breaks
the sound-symbol code inductively on his own. Lefevre maintains that:
Mastering the graphic system by giving his main atten tion to larger patterns, a learner would develop his own inductive generalizations on sound-spelling rela tionships (and this largely through his writing); in reading he would need formal spelling instruction only to get him over difficulties. (p. xix)
Techniques devised to develop sentence sense are listed in
Appendix A on pages 167-176.
Although there is no available research to indicate that
the method as outlined by Lefevre will produce better readers,
it is generally recognized by reading authorities that even
in eclectic approaches where a variety of word attack skills
are used it is better to introduce sight vocabulary and words
for phonic analysis in the context of a complete sentence.
(Smith, p. 200; McCullough, _et al, p. 223) Developing
sentence sense is considered essential to full comprehension,
and even methods that stress intensive work on phonics will
warn against spending too much time analyzing individual
letters and their sounds. Usually after a sound-symbol
relationship has been established, practice with words
containing the item is provided by using whole sentences. 57
The experience method
An extension of the whole sentence approach or ideational method is the experience method. The Language-Experience approach is the result of an attempt to integrate the reading program with the language arts program in order to make the reading experience more meaningful for the individual student.
It is the contention of the proponents of this method that meaning and understanding have their bases in the experience of the individual. Therefore, if the child is to read with understanding, the content must be taken directly from personal experiences and expressed in the meaningful language of the child. The reading material is provided by the student himself through the use of experience charts. Reading through experience charts involves four basic steps: (l) The children are encouraged to express their ideas on something they are thinking about, have observed, have heard about, or have wished for. Sometimes they make crayon drawings of their thoughts. (2) These experiences are discussed, giving practice in oral language. An effort is made to clarify meanings and develop full comprehension. (3) As the children dictate their experiences, the teacher helps them extract the most important ideas which she writes down. (*f) As the children reread their sentences, the teacher talks informally with them about some of the words, the names of letters, beginning sounds, ending sounds, etc. (Lee and Allen, 1963» 58 pp. ^3-^*0 Other suggestions for using experience charts are given in Appendix A, pages 176-177*
Experience charts can be used (and frequently sire) in any method of teaching reading. It is rare that this approach is ever used as the only type of instruction. However, a number of teachers in San Diego County have reported using exclusively this method with satisfactory results. (Smith, p. 8l) As a method (not a technique) the experience approach has these limitations: (l) It does not control vocabulary, loo many words may be introduced at one time. (2) The student, who knows he will have to read his story, may tend to repeat only the words he can already read, thus, limiting his vocabulary development. (3) The demands on the teacher are great. It requires a high level of training and takes up more instructional time than other methods. (Heilman, pp. 107-108)
Word-attack skills
The following statement by Nila Banton Smith represents the concern of most reading specialists for the first step of the reading process, identification of the word symbols:
The growth area of word identification is the most basic of all the skill areas. It is the foundation upon which the skills in all other growth areas are laid. Unless a child can recognize the words for which printed symbols stand, he can't read - period! (p. 167)
Considerable effort has been spent devising appropriate methods to develop skills in word recognition. There are four approaches 59 to the problem: (l) recognizing whole words by sight,
(2) using context clues, (3) analyzing words phonetically, and (4) using structural analysis. (DeBoer and Dallmann,
196*f, p. 83)
Word recognition by sight
Most programs of teaching word identification start with whole words which are learned by sight before they are broken down into smaller parts for phonic analysis. (Russell, 19&1, pp. 295-297) Pupils learn to identify these words by the general configuration of the word (length, size, shape), by certain letter characteristics (double letters, beginning and ending letters), and by forming associations with picture clues, objects, and other words. The word is usually introduced by the "look and say" technique. It is important to note the insistence upon the use of context in Harris' description of this technique:
. . . the word is introduced by the teacher in a spoken sentence or story, and if the meaning is unfamiliar, that is developed first. The sentence can be presented on the chalkboard and the word can be underlined, framed with the hands, or set off by pointers. The children are encouraged to look carefully at it while saying it; this is a 'look and say' technique. (pp. 316-317)
Continued practice on the word is provided by the use of many flash card techniques and by the regular repetition of the word in the basal reading text. See Appendix A, pages 177 to l8l for additional techniques. Research on word perception indicates that retention of sight words is increased if (1) they are presented in a variety of ways (written on the board, on flash cards, underlined, circled, used with pictures, written as labels under pictures}, (2) the letter characteristics and configura tions are pointed out as clues, (3) they are presented in a meaningful context, and (k) they are repeated and used frequently. (Russell, 19&1, PP* 295-297)
The chief purpose of beginning reading instruction by developing a basic sight vocabulary is to provide the student with a sufficient number of words to make the eventual phonic analysis more meaningful and to give him the ability to recognize those common, frequently recurring words that do not lend themselves to phonic analysis or other methods of attack, words such as where, would, and was. (Smith, p. 171)
Although the majority of reading authorities favor beginning reading instruction with the establishment of a basic sight vocabulary before phonics is started, the research is not too clear in the evidence that it presents. There are a few studies, however, that do support the delay of phonics in favor of this approach. (Gill, pp. 2kj>-2k8', Sparks and
Fay, 1957, PP. 386-390)
Phonics
Probably no other term in the vocabulary of reading instruction has been at the root of so much conflict and 6l misunderstanding than the word phonics. Phonics is not a reading method. It is simply one way of developing skill in word recognition. It involves teaching the pronunciations represented by various letters or clusters of letters.
Phonics instruction usually proceeds in the following manner: (l) Sentences containing the stimulus words or simply lists of words containing the sound-symbol association to be studied are placed on the board. (2) If the method is inductive, the teacher asks the pupils what sound the words have in common and then to identify the letter or letters that represent this sound. If the method is deductive, the teacher will underline the letter in question or place the key letter above the list, ask the children to name it, and then pranounce the words asking the students to listen for the sound in each word. (3) The pupils are then invited to read the sentences or words themselves. Additional practice is provided by asking for other known words containing these sounds, substituting letters, matching words that have common sounds, rhyming words, forming new words by changing letters, etc.
These techniques and others are described in detail in
Appendix A on pages l8l-l86.
The past fifty years have seen phonics in and out of favor a number of times. It was a popular technique to begin reading with intensive phonic instruction until the late twenties when a study by Gates showed that this intensive work in phonics tended to make readers score lower in silent reading comprehension. Gates (1927) concluded that pupils were paying too much attention to individual letters and were, therefore, failing to get the meaning. (pp. 217-226) Another study which kept intensive phonics out of the beginning stages of reading instruction for a number of years was the one conducted by
Dolch and Bloomster (1937). By having first and second grade pupils read lists of uncommon one syllable words out of context, these investigators were able to determine the correlation between phonic ability and mental age. Their results indicated that children whose mental ages were below seven years were able to do little or nothing on the phonics test. (pp. 201-205) As a result of this experiment many reading programs began to reduce considerably the amount of phonics instruction in the first grade. Harris questions the findings of Dolch and
Bloomster saying that their test "presented the children with a more difficult task than they face in connected meaningful reading, and that (it) tended to underestimate the phonic readiness of first graders." (p. 329)
In the fifties phonics regained some of its popularity when Flesch's book Why Johnny Can*t Read (1955) listed lack of phonics instruction as one of the reasons for reading failure.
A flow of research recently supports the use of phonics from the very beginning of instruction. (Gurren and Hughes, 1964) Although the trend in research is to favor phonics, there are some inconsistencies in the findings that will require further investigation. The Gurren and Hughes' review of research (19&5 ) shows that intensive phonics from the beginning is clearly superior to gradual phonice. The research of Cleland and Miller (1965) does not confirm this, nor do the
findings of Tensuan and Davis (196*0. Intensive phonics added to a basal reader approach was reported as more beneficial than just the basal approach alone in a study by Bordeaux and Shope
(1966). In research conducted by Bliesmer and Yarborough, the analytic method of teaching whole words first is found to be inferior to the synthetic approach in which the students are taught certain letter-sound relationships or word elements before beginning to read whole words. (1965* p. 50*0
In spite of the inconclusive findings in the research, the majority of reading authorities support the analytic method with gradual, yet systematic phonic instruction taught
inductively. If these recommendations are not substantiated
by sufficient research, they can be attributed to the expert's
concern for the child's attitude toward reading and his ultimate comprehension skills. Authorities are generally in
agreement that to develop a real interest in reading and to
acquire the proper attitude of reading for meaning, the child
must not be tied to the task of analyzing sounds and letters
right from the start. To the reading specialist this means 6k gradual and inductive phonic instruction after the introduction of an initial sight vocabulary. (Russell, 1961, PP* 309-312;
Smith, pp. 212-213; Durkin, p. 19; Cutts, pp. 39-^0; Heilman,
196*f, p. 11)
Context clues
When the reader cannot identify a word by sight or through phonic analysis, he is encouraged to use context clues.
This process is started from the very beginning as the child is taught to find clues in the accompanying pictures which are designed to give clues to new words. As soon as the pupil is able to recognize most of the words in a sentence, he is taught to use verbal context clues to identify new words. If he encounters difficulty with a word, he is told to read on to the end of the sentence in hopes that the remaining context will provide enough association to make the unknown word clear.
If this does not work, he is often asked to remember what has occurred before or to read the next sentence if there are sufficient clues to help him. (Hester, 196^, p. 136) The flow of the student's reading is not repeatedly interrupted in this way. Most of the new words are introduced before the reading begins. A few words, strategically placed, are often left unexplained to provide practice in the development of the use of context clues in word identification. 65
Using context clues is an important word-getting technique, one that will be valuable to the learner in most all of his future reading experiences. Skill in this technique is worth thoughtful and systematic instruction.
(Smith, p. 182) Strang and other investigators have shown that this skill does not develop naturally, that it has to be taught. (Russell, 1963» P« 892) McCullough (1967) has listed seven types of context clues:
1. Direct explanation; the unknown word is explained in the sentence. 2. Experience; the word is explained by something in the student's life-experience. 3. Comparison and contrast; the meaning of the unknown word is given by an opposite which is known. k. Synonym or restatement; the word is explained by a known synonym or defined in a parenthet ical restatement. 5. Familiar expression or language experience; the student receives help from acquaintance with everyday expressions and common lang uage patterns. 6. Summary; the unknown word summarizes ideas that precede or follow. 7. Reflection of a mood or situation; the unknown word fits a situation or mood previously established. (pp. 230-231)
Guiding questions, multiple choice, completion, and matching exercises are used to develop skill in the use of context clues.
See sample exercises in Appendix A, pages 186-188.
A survey by Gray and Holmes (1961) of research dealing with procedures for promoting vocabulary growth indicates that specific study of techniques to develop skill in identifying words in context is helpful. (p. 1123) Structural analysis of words
Sometimes a word which the student knows and could recognize in its basic form presents a problem when it is modified by inflections, affixes, or presented in a compound form. Multisyllabic words, unfamiliar to the pupil, which defy phonic analysis without syllabication or recognition of certain word structure elements are also difficult for the beginning reader. To prepare the student for such encounters, it is recommended that the following skills in structural analysis be systematically developed and not left to chance: (l) identi fying base or root words, (2) identifying inflected forms of known words, (3) identifying compounds made up of two known root words or made up of one known and one unknown word,
(k) identifying derived forms of known words to which prefixes or suffixes are added, (5) identifying contractions in which one or two letters are omitted, and (6) identifying pronunciation units or syllables. (Umans, 196k, pp. 17-18)
Practice in identifying root words is usually provided by having the students identify from given groups of words the part that gives the basic meaning. The meanings of prefixes and suffixes are taught and drilled as they are met in the reading and further practice is given by having pupils make and identify derived forms with familiar words and these affixes. Readers are taught to look for compounds by combining and separating suitable forms in various exercises. Instruction in dividing words into syllables is usually included in the formal spelling lessons. For additional techniques in structural analysis see Appendix A, pages 189 to 191- Opinions vary among authorities as to the usefulness of structural analysis, and the little research that has been conducted is not very revealing. Although a study by Otterman
(1955) revealed significant gains in ability to interpret new words for students of high intelligence as a result of instruction in structural analysis, her conclusions were that this research did not give clear evidence of the value of structural analysis as a technique of word recognition.
(pp. 11-16) Russell (1963) quotes the Anderson and Dearborn review of research on synthetic approaches to word recognition which showed that ’’the first part of the word has the most influence in recognition and that known syllables or parts in long words may be misleading as well as helpful.'1 (p. 870)
McKee reports that he has found that students who have learned to use together context and letter-sound associations for consonants and a few other items rarely need to know the rules of syllabication to call to mind the familiar spoken word for which a given strange printed word stands. Consequently, he does not recommend the teaching of syllabication rules. Reading for Meaning
Having broken the sound-symbol code, the next task of the reader is to comprehend its meaning. Reading comprehension is no longer thought of as a unitary ability, but an operation of several stages and levels involving a number of specialized skills. (Sochor, 1952, p. 21) The first level of comprehension requires the process of "translating" which includes the ability to recognize the basic literal meaning of items, to understand the relationships among these items, and to retain this information. The second level of comprehension involves the ability to interpret and infer meanings that are not directly stated in the literal content but are indirectly implied through the choice of language, tone, mood, and intent apparent in the literary material. Reacting personally, but as objectively as possible, to what is read is part of the final act in the comprehension process. This last step is basically an evaluative, problem-solving procedure through which personal reactions to and judgments of what is read are examined in terms of established criteria.
Literal comprehension
A number of skills need to be developed to assure complete comprehension of the primary literal meaning of what is read. The following list is a compilation of the most frequently mentioned literal comprehension skills found in 69 the literature. To comprehend literally what he reads, the student needs to be able to:
1. Understand word meanings in context.
2. Grasp the meaning of units of increasing size:
phrases, sentences, paragraphs, the whole
selection.
3. Find and understand the main ideas.
k. Note significant details.
5. Relate supporting details to central thoughts.
6. Follow a sequence of related events.
7. Grasp the organization and plan of the selection.
8. Classify, outline, and summarize the essential
information for retention.
Literal comprehension is essential to all other levels of comprehension and, therefore, deserves adequate attention.
Although there are many techniques used to facilitate the
development of the skills listed above (see Appendix A, pages 191-200. ), in general it is the factual question which
is used to determine the student's knowledge of what the reading
"says." The complaint among reading experts is not that this
level of comprehension is insufficiently treated, but on the
contrary, that it is entirely overemphasized. It is felt that
too much time is spent on the query of unimportant details to
the detriment of understanding the larger ideas and their 70 supporting points which is the main role literal comprehension should play in providing the bridge to higher levels of understanding. (Smith, p. 265; Lee and Allen, p. 99; Cutts,
PP* 55-56; McKee, p. 243; Gans, p. 188)
Interpretation
Russell (1961) has provided a meaningful outline of the sequence of steps from literal comprehension to the critical reading stage:
Accurate perception of words and thought-units
Understanding literal meanings
Integration of ideas with past experience
Seeing implied relationships, hidden meanings, reacting to
symbols
Developing new ideas either appreciative or critical
Using these new ideas in other activities
(p..469)
The process of reading between the lines or interpreting what is read is basically a matter of seeing the relationships between items that are stated in the reading, implying relationships between items stated and not stated in the reading,
and then making inferences and predictions based on these
observed relationships. For example, a character’s act in a
story being read may be first related to preceding happenings.
Having established this relationship between items that are 71
actually stated (relating what the character did to what has happened in the story up to that point), the reader may then
try to determine the motives behind the character's action,
i.e. imply a relationship between what is stated and not stated.
The reader may then take a third step and infer or predict what
the character will do next or what he (the reader) would do if he were that character, i.e. make inferences based on the
observed relationships. The following list, summarized from
the literature, indicates the skills needed in interpretive reading:
1. Seeing relationships
a. Relating time, place, and action.
b. Noting the similarities and differences in the
various situations, characters, actions, and
settings within a selection.
c. Relating problems to conditions and outcomes.
d. Relating reading and personal experience.
e. Integrating ideas from different readings.
f. Relating form and content.
g. Generalizing from specific facts; determining
cause and effect, whole-part relationships.
2. Making inferences and predictions
a. Supplying happenings that are not given between
incidents.
b. Anticipating what will happen next. 72
c. Predicting his (the reader's) own behavior in
similar circumstances.
d. Recognizing symbols and giving them meaning.
e. Determining theme and implying the author's
intent.
f. Deciding what the attitude of the author is
toward the reader and his subject.
See Appendix A, pages 200-206 for techniques.
Critical heading
Once the pupil has acquired the basic literal meaning of the reading and has placed this meaning within the perspective of his own interpretation by perceiving a variety of relation ships and making a number of inferences, he is ready to react and evaluate. His immediate personal reactions cause him to accept or reject, believe or disbelieve, appreciate or disapprove what he has read. This last step in the reading process does not mean simply passing personal judgment on what is read, but rather evaluating personal reactions to what is read by the use of established criteria. Many of these criteria have been established in the preceding steps of comprehension.
If, for example, organization has been carefully noted at the literal stage and relationships have been adequately perceived at the interpretation level, then certain consistencies or inconsistencies in the writing are more easily pointed out at 73 the evaluation level. Reading critically involves two operations: reacting personally and formulating critical
judgments based on established criteria. The skills needed
to perform these processes are enumerated below:
1. Reacting and developing appreciations
a. Identifying with situations or characters.
b. Recognizing and appreciating devices for
story development (foreshadowing, flashback,
point of view, symbolism, etc.).
c. Recognizing and appreciating style, the use
of sensory images, and ways of achieving mood.
d. Recognizing ethical values in themes and
reacting to them.
2. Making critical evaluations
a. Evaluating relevancy and adequacy.
(1) of form to content.
(2) of references to a stated problem.
(3) of facts to a conclusion.
(k) of details to main ideas.
(5) of time to events.
(6) of the reading content to the reader's
purpose.
b. Distinguishing reality and fact from fantasy
and opinion. (1) Determining believability and validity
of characters, events, and settings.
(2) Detecting the use of emotional appeals
and propaganda devices.
For specific classroom techniques used to develop these skills see Appendix A, pages 206-208.
There is no question that the development of interpretive and critical skills as major objectives of the reading program has been greatly emphasized during the past decade. Some authorities feel that these skills are so important that any program which fails to offer sufficient training in this area is falling short of its responsibilities to the twentieth century citizen. (King, p. l4) The fear of these experts is that if we stop at the literal comprehension level, which is quite often the practice, "we are continuing the production of higher illiterates whose ability to absorb and recall may be very great,but whose capacity to understand themselves and the world in which they are living may be very small." (King, p. 1*0
Research indicates that even though many of these reasoning, inferential, and evaluative skills are a common part of most individuals' daily thought processes, they are not automatically transferred to the reading act. Systematic teaching of the skills is required. (Spache, 1964, p. 21;
King, p. 30) Studies by Glaser (1940), Gans (19*1-0), and 75
Sochor (1952) indicate that these abilities can be developed in most students through proper instruction. (King, p. 30;
Sochor, p. 21) General reading ability and literal comprehension appear to be substantially related to interpre tation and critical reading. (Sochor, pp. 100-101) This indicates the necessity for continued emphasis on improving beginning reading instruction to facilitate these higher levels of comprehension.
Many investigations reviewed by Sochor (1952) and a study conducted by McCullough (1957) show that elementary pupils are capable of the same qualitative thinking processes as adults. Their only limitations seem to be experiential ones. For this reason, it is a common recommendation that interpretive and critical thinking skills should be stressed from the very beginning in reading instruction, and continued, of course, throughout the content of the secondary school curriculum. (King, p. k Z ‘, Cutts, p. 55; Smith, p. 259)
Although it is generally believed that there is a close relationship between intelligence and critical thinking ability, in most investigations "the coefficients of correlation between intelligence test scores and critical thinking have not exceeded .50 and most have been considerably lower." (King, p. 38 ) From his study Glaser concluded that "intelligence and critical thinking are not composed of the same factors, although they do have factors in common." .(Sochor, p. 21)
Most authorities believe that all children can benefit from interpretive and critical reading instruction. As Nila Banton
Smith so aptly put it, "All children think; there is no reason to confine their learning experiences to routine
drill." (p. 262)
Silent and Oral Reading
Oral reading was once the only kind of reading practiced and emphasized in the classroom. Reading was equated with pronouncing printed material out loud. Then classroom
testing and research began to show that many students when reading orally were simply decoding sounds without grasping
the meaning of the content. It was also discovered that when
these readers were asked to read silently, they did so very
slowly and laboriously, often whispering the words or moving
their lips. These discoveries brought silent reading into
vogue, with the complete suppression in many places of oral
reading activities. Complete neglect of oral reading was also producing crippled readers whose comprehension was deficient
because of inaccurate word recognition, who were poor spellers,
and who could not read aloud with appropriate phrasing and
expression. The values of both silent and oral reading are now
recognized. Silent reading is now introduced immediately, but
the diagnostic and motivational values of oral reading in the 77 early stages of reading make it an important part of most reading activities in the early grades. By the third and fourth grades silent reading receives the main emphasis.
(Harris, p. 92)
To be effective, silent and oral reading activities must be well planned and directed. Oral reading must not be simply giving everyone a turn to read aloud. Silent reading is not conducted merely to keep students quiet and occupied while the teacher does something else. Students should have frequent opportunities to read silently in connection with a planned class activity. For example, the teacher introduces a brief paragraph to be read silently by the class. Students are given some background about the material and are given some "before11 questions, the answers to which they are to look for as they read. The teacher asks students to note organization and use of transitional techniques when reading a passage silently.
The following values have been attributed to oral reading: (l) It instills confidence in the beginning reader.
He likes to hear himself and to display his new skill.
(2) It gives the teacher a quick and valid way to evaluate progress in important reading skills such as word recognition and phrasing. (3) It helps the teacher to discover specific instructional needs. (k) It helps to develop skills in oral communication, speaking, and listening skills during 78 discussions. (5) It provides opportunities for dramatization.
(Gans, 19631 P* 7^; Harris, p. 62)
Hester has described several kinds of oral reading which are purposeful: (l) Reading to answer questions.
(2) Reading to check pronunciation of letters and proper phrasing. (3) Using voice to express a mood - a good oral reader is able to communicate to his listeners the feelings, emotions, and moods of an author by emphasizing proper words and using different inflections. (4) Choral reading - it is helpful in giving children practice in reading by thought units. (5) Audience reading - the pupils are given a chance to select and prepare a selection to read to the class. (p. 239)
Summary
This chapter has described the state of reading instruction in English as it relates specifically to methodology.
Numerous approaches to beginning reading instruction were reviewed and their methods briefly described. The different levels of reading comprehension were explained and required skills were enumerated. For specific classroom techniques in all of these areas, the reader was referred to Appendix A which treats these activities in detail. The major conclusions drawn from this chapter are as follows:
1. The area of reading instruction in English has a
rich and varied methodology. Varied opinions exist as to the best method of beginning reading instruction.
Research does not favor any particular approach.
Most experts in the field recommend an eclectic approach.
Literal comprehension is important, but usually overemphasized in most programs.
Systematic instruction in interpretive and critical reading is recommended from the very beginning of reading instruction.
Purposeful oral and silent reading must be planned
Both modes of reading are important from the start CHAPTER III
READING INSTRUCTION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES: A REVIEW OF
METHODS AND CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES
Variables in the Foreign Language Reading Process
Charles T. Scott in his article "The Linguistic Basis for the Development of Reading Skill" identifies four principal variables that have to be considered in the teaching of reading in a foreign language:
1. the learner's command of the spoken language represented by the writing system. 2. the nature of the writing system itself. 3. the relative adequacy of fit of the writing system to the spoken language. k. the learner's past conditioning to the graphic configurations of the writing system, including not only the size and shape of the characters themselves, but also the linear direction that the characters follow. (p. 538)
Each of these variables will be described in more detail with particular regard to the French-English situation where French is the target language^ —
Command of the Spoken Language
A natural prerequisite to the reading task is the ability to say and understand at least the corpus of material that is to be read. The importance of this prerequisite is reflected in
80 81 mother tongue reading instruction. Prereading programs are designed specifically to give their five-year old beginners, already fluent in the language, practice in speaking and auditory discrimination. It has long been recognized in
English reading instruction that success in reading depends on previous mastery of the oral-aural skills.
Control of the spoken language has not always been considered a desirable requirement for foreign language reading.
Certainly if the reader's aim is only to decode or translate the foreign text, he can perform this task without any previous audio-lingual mastery of the material. In this case the learner is not really reading, but decoding. If the student wants to read the foreign language, he must "correlate the visual symbols of the writing system with the vocal symbols of speech as automatically as possible." (Scott, p. 5^3) Clearly to perform the mechanics of this process, previous audio-lingual mastery of the material is indispensable.
Some degree of audio-lingual control of the reading material is a common recommendation among foreign language teaching experts today. A frequent statement is that "the student will read only what he has already learned to understand and say." (Michel, p. 338) The word "learned" in the preceding sentence has been subject to various interpretations. To some it means simply the ability to repeat orally with minimal hesitation and faltering a small number of foreign language 82 utterances and understand their basic literal meanings. This would be the interpretation of Wilga Rivers, who has found psychological support for the immediate introduction to the foreign language script "after the first oral presentation of the work." (p. 113) "Learned" to others means being able to understand, use actively, and recite from memory a certain corpus of material in the language.
The foreign language student begins reading the exact items he can say usually in nearly the same order that he learns to speak them. Precisely how much of the spoken language he should know before he begins to read and how well he should know it are questions that receive vague answers in the descriptions of reading prerequisites in the literature: ". . .
^.'reasonable1 mastery of basic sounds and structure." (Reindrop,
1937» P« 243) "... material has been mastered through listening and speaking practice." (Michel, 1967» p- 364)
". . . a firm control of phonology . . . an active control of the morphology and syntax introduced during the pre-reading period." (Northeast Conference, 1963* P* 24) Belasco tries to clarify the degree of learning expected by adding two adverbs when he says that reading occurs"after the spoken version has been thoroughly understood and can be properly reproduced."
(p. 88 )
The terms "basic sounds and structures,"'-'material that has been mastered," and the "spoken version" in the above quotes do not refer to any specific corpus of language material that has been identified as essential to beginning reading instruction.
This '•material" varies from class to class and is largely determined by the text being used. The descriptive words
"reasonable," "firm," "active," "thoroughly," and "properly" hardly indicate specific measures of achievement in the speaking-listening phase, although it appears that a fairly high level is expected.
The amount of time recommended for prereading instruc tion again varies according to what is meant by audio-lingual mastery. To those who believe in immediate introduction of the written material after a brief initial oral presentation, it is not a question of separating the speaking and reading activities in time, but simply a matter of the order of presentation.
Most authorities would endorse a purely audio-lingual phase extending from several weeks to several months. The length of time devoted to this stage will depend on a number of factors, including "the students' age, their language skill and the language they are studying." (Michel, p. 338)
Foreign language materials have made rather arbitrary decisions about the length of the prereading period and the amount of material that should be covered before reading is introduced. Certain materials indicate the number of units to be covered before introducing reading, others the length of time in terms of hours or weeks, still others recommend a
prereading period of great latitude leaving the final decision
of its length to the teacher. The illustration on the next
page describes the position of the major texts used in French
on this question.
The Nature of the Writing System
The language learner who is studying a language that
uses the Roman alphabet can consider this a mixed blessing in
the face of learning to read. Since English uses the Roman
alphabetic system of writing, the student learning French or
Spanish will not be faced with the task of learning a totally new writing system as he would if he were studying Russian which
uses the Cyrillic alphabet or Japanese which uses a
logo-syllabic system. Aside from a few additional accent marks
and a few extra letter combinations thrown into the alphabetic
list (such as the _ch and r£ in Spanish), the student of French
or Spanish will have no new characters to learn. If the learner's
reading task is simplified somewhat by the fact that he already
knows the characters of the writing system of the foreign
language, he will find in this previous knowledge one of the
greatest sources of difficulty in his attempts to pronounce
written symbols. Stack (1966) identifies the obstacle when he
states that "the biggest problem, if the alphabet is Roman,
is preventing the student from assigning English values to
familiar letters." (p. 170) RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MAJOR TEXT BOOKS CONCERNING THE AUDIO-LINGUAL TIME LAG
Number of Units or Lessons Weeks or Hours Teacher Decision
"It is assumed that the use of printed or written materials Audio-Lingual has been postponed until the Materials first four units have been mastered audio-lingually."
. . the pre-reading period according to the length LeFranc^ais: can be terminated at the end of time you judge neces Ecouter of the first or second unit sary." et Parler or can be continued through the first three units,
French _1 ". . . the end of the first "Some teachers will wish O'Brien lesson . . . (or) until the to let students see the and end of the second or third printed text as early as Lafrance lesson." the end of the first lesson .... Others will wish to withhold the printed text until the end of the second or third lesson."
"As soon as they can say the "By the fourth or Learning first dialog with nearly fifth week, the French perfect pronunciation and average class will the intonation, begin to teach probably be well Modern reading." along in memorizing Way the second dialog in Unit I . . ."
oo vn RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MAJOR TEXT BOOKS— Continued
Number of Units or Lessons Weeks or Hours Teacher Decision
". . .we have found by exper and still preserves Voix et ience that introducing writing the recommendation Images after Unit 6 works well with that some sixty hours North American students . . . o f 'ear training' in the sounds of French be accomplished before going from sound to symbol.11
Cours Ele "Do the first five introduc ment air e tory lessons orally before deFrancais presenting the printed page." Dale Sc Dale
Basic Conver "., . . for most stud sational ents, it is more help- French fiil than harmful for Harris and them to see the text Leveque after the first week."
"The brief dialogues found on "The length of this per pages 4 and 5 of the text may iod . . . will vary from Le Frangais be used as introductory ele teacher to teacher." Vivant ments during this period. Couture The lesson-related dialogue for lesson 1 (or lessons 1 thru 6 , for example) might also be used for this "purely" audiolingual introduction." The Fit Between Sound and Symbol
Bloomfield has found it a source of annoyance and amusement to read the reading specialistte' remarks about the difficulties of learning to read "nonphonetic languages" like
English and French and the relative ease of reading "the more phonetic ones" like Spanish. (p. 27) It is, of course, senseless to talk about a "nonphonetic language." What reading specialists are referring to when they make such statements is the regularity or irregularity of fit between the sounds and their written correspondences. The spelling
combination "ough" is often used to illustrate the lack of
fit that exists between sound and symbol in the English writing system. This spelling can represent at least five different pronunciations, as in the words enough, through, cough, thorough, and bough. French spellings are also notoriously irregular, although Politzer (i960) seems to think that "the correspondence between writing and sound is somewhat more predictable than in English." (p. 62)
An alphabetic system will present fewer problems to
the beginning reader than other writing systems because of
the small number of symbols that it uses. However, the problems of fit can complicate the reading process if the patterns of representation are not systematically taught and
thoroughly drilled. 88
Past Conditioning to the Graphic Configurations of the Writing System
The student who begins his second language in school will have already learned to read and write his native tongue, to a certain degree of competency. Not only will he be conditioned to respond to the shape and size of the written characters themselves, but he will also have developed certain habits that the reading function requires. If his mother tongue is English, the reader will have established the habit of following the written characters from the left to the right of the page, from the top to the bottom of the page, and from the front to the back of the book. The student of French as a second language will not have to alter any of these habits when he begins to read that language, since the direction that the characters follow are identical in both languages.
In summary, it is deemed theoretically sound to require audio-lingual practice of the reading material before it is seen in written form. If the alphabet of the second language is Koman, the student will have the advantage of familiarity with the characters, but the disadvantage of a predisposition to assign English values to familiar letters. The relation between the writing system and the spoken forms it represents may be relatively consistent and regular or quite irregular as in the case of French. A poor fit necessitates a carefully organized instructional plan of presenting the spelling patterns.
The past conditioning of the reader of English to the left-to-right sequence of symbol presentation will be an aid to the reader in French since the same direction is followed.
A Description of Methods
Breaking the Code
Transcription
One way of helping the student to break the written code of a language that has poor fit is to change the traditional writing system to a simpler and more regular form. Because of the poor correspondence between French orthography and pronun ciation a number of textbooks, especially at the college level, make use of phonemic transcription. Politzer (i960) describes how such transcriptions are used and the advantages and disadvantages of using them:
There are different ways of using phonemic trans cription. It may be used throughout the course for the purpose of classifying problems of grammar and pronunciation; it may be used throughout as the regular accompaniment of the presentation of French orthography; it may also be used in the initial stages of the course only, with the switch to regular French orthography being made as soon as the student has developed good pronunciation habits. The obvious advantage of the phonemic transcription is that it establishes a one-to-one correspondence between sound and symbol. The obvious disadvantage is that unless we are interested in teaching only speaking and aural comprehension, the orthography must be taught sooner or later, and the student exposed to two writing systems may be more confused than ever. 90
In 1950 Hamilton and Haden described a three year
experiment in which certain students used phonetic symbols
instead of the traditional orthography in the beginning weeks
of instruction. Although they were testing the merits of
different methods of teaching pronunciation, their conclusions,
based on an auditory discrimination test and the final semester
exam, were "that the preferred system of writing for beginners
should be a phonetic transcription in the case of French, and
the standard orthography in the case of Spanish." (p. 9 8 )
Valdman would not endorse replacing traditional
spelling by a regular system of transcription, for he sees in
the writing system not only a representation of spoken
pronunciations but also a conveyor of important etymological
and grammatical information which is essential to the reader.
He explains the superiority of traditional spelling to
transcription in this way:
Writing is . . . to be more highly valued than transcription, for it is a sign of the first order, that is to say, it attempts to represent directly higher-level linguistic units; plural, feminine, etc. A transcription is a sign of the second order, a sign of a sign, since it constitutes a record of a realization of a linguistic unit .... For example cent, sans, sang, sent, and sens, in no way exhibit five different graphic representations of the vowel /a/. The Jb of cent indicates that within that word is contained the same linguistic unit which appears in centenaire and in cent ans. Likewise the underlying form of sans appears in sans issue, that of sang in sanguinaire, and the -s and -t_ of the present tense forms of sentir are grammatical endings which have a linguistic reality even if they are seldom realized. (pp« ^70-^71) 91
The use of color
The system of "Words in Color" described in Chapter II has been attempted with several foreign languages. In fact, it was first tried in Amharic, the official language of
Ethiopia. It has also been used with Spanish. (Gattegno, p. 21) By assigning one different color to each of the phonemes of the language and then representing the letter or the various letter combinations that make this sound always in that same color, it is hoped that the beginning reader will be led to make the sound-symbol associations more easily and more rapidly. Gattegno describes the beginning steps of this system as it is used in Spanish:
In Spanish, after the five vowels are intro duced (in color), the consonant _1 is introdu ced by naming it "the green." Then, the green, or _1 , can be combined with the five vowels to create al, _la, ul, lu, and so forth. . . . We can use any one of the combinations or changes in position possible within a group of letters, only some of which will be accept able words in any one language. Thus the principle of the code for translating sound into sets of signs goes beyond merely produc ing the desired words and is therefore more powerful. (p. 12) (See his description of visual dictation in Chapter II, p. 51-)
The idea of using color to help establish sound-symbol
v i associations seems to have originated from experiments performed by psycholinguists which indicate "that there are innate relations between colors and sounds." (ParIons 92 Franqais, Level III, Teacher's Guide, p. 9) The use of this technique to facilitate the letter-sound decoding process is more predominant at the elementary level than at upper levels.
Both the McGraw-Hill FLES series Let's Speak French and the
ParIons Franqais program use color to help introduce written forms.
In ParIons Franqais only some of the sounds have been assigned colors, mainly the vowels and certain consonants that have a different value in French than in English (the digraph ch, for example). The colors supposedly reflect the quality of the sound, and follow a rainbow-like progression around the vowel triangle. The high front vowel /i/ is portrayed in bright yellow which takes on orange and reddish hues as we descend the front part of the triangle. The back vowels are given green and blue shades. These colors are intended to be of help not only because of the one-to-one relationship that they establish between sound and color, but also because the colors themselves are supposed to suggest the phonetic quality of the sound.
The student sees the various letters represented in color on charts and uses colored pencils to represent these letters in fill-in exercises. The sounds or letters are never called by their color names as they are in "Words in
Color" where the letter 1 is called "the green," etc. The color is a temporary psychological aid that is given no 93 status of its own by being named. It is the sound-symbol relationship that must be established. The color is an incidental reinforcer of this correspondence. The Teacher's
Manual warns against using the names of the colors:
Naming colors in this situation is parallel to translating, and the student should never be requested to assign a color name to a particu lar sound. Therefore, the teacher is urged to have students refer to the color chart rather than to give color names to the sounds. The sound-color reference chart should be readily available at all times to both students and teacher. Thus, for example, in an exercise where color is used in establishing the sound-letter relationship, one should refer to the on crayon or color rather than the "turquoise" crayon or color. (p. 9 )
The Let's Speak French series uses color in an entirely different way. Color in this program is an attention-getting device used to identify and isolate the problem under considera tion, although certain sound generalities are symbolized by color and other signs. This system is described in the Manual of Book 3 in which reading and writing are first introduced:
Each sound is initially printed in red in order that the student can make a visual connection between the sound and its written form or forms. The unpronounced or "weak" letters such as _e or h are printed in blue at first, in order that the student may come to realize that it is quite often the position or environment of the letter that determines whether or not it is sounded or how it is sounded. When linking is introduced, a bullet (.) will be used to help the students understand that the final letter is sounded with the initial vowel sound of the following word. These special signs and colors are used only, in the word recognition drills. They are given at first to lead the student to make his own 9^
generalizations. As soon as possible, these special markings are eliminated and the words and sentences appear in their normal form. (p. 1)
Whole sentence approaches
Carl Lefevre's pronouncements about starting reading by working with the larger patterns of complete sentences and phrase groups have not gone unnoticed in the foreign language
field. Politzer, who has recognized the validity of many of
Lefevre's statements in an article called "Pattern Drills in
Reading," recommends the partial adoption of some of Lefevre's
suggestions. Politzer identifies the first stage of the reading
act as being concerned with the establishment of the relationship between the "sound-stime system" (audio-lingual) and the
"visual-space system" (graphic). These two systems can be linked
at various levels: at the phoneme level, the morpheme level,
the word level, or the phrase and clause level. Politzer does not actually propose beginning reading instruction at the
sentence level, but he does insist that instruction at this
level is as important as it is at the lower levels:
. . . associating the dimensions at the lower levels evidently does not assure moving "up" to the higher levels of quick comprehension of the structures of phrases, clauses, sent ences. . . . the association between the dimen sions should be taught expressly and systematic ally not as just one of the levels of linguistic structure, but at all of them. (pp. 130-131)
Politzer sees in the whole sentence approach the best
way to present systematically the visual symbols corresponding 95
to grammatical structural meaning. He suggests that these
correspondences can best be taught in reading through the use of the pattern drill. The students are given written drills
in the foreign language which are based on recent reading material and contain vocabulary that the student already
knows. Within the pattern, irrelevant elements not essential
to the grammatical structural meaning are withdrawn. The
students are to read the patterns and supply the missing items.
It is believed that by withdrawing the nonessential elements
the student's attention is focused upon the pattern that is
evident in the remaining meaning-bearing structures. The
following is an example of such a drill:
1. Charlotte n'est pas aussi ______qu'elle en a 1 'air. 2. Vous n'£tes pas aussi ______que vous en ______1 'air. 3. Marie est beaucoup plus ______qu'elle en a l'air. 4. Charles et Robert sont beaucoup ______ItgSs qulils en ______l'air. (Retour en France, 1964, p. 39)
Politzer (1964) describes a further step in which the student
is given "structural frames" and is asked to fill them with
content words of his own choice. He points out that these
"frames could be arranged into a meaningful paragraph or in
sequences of identical frames." (p. 134)
Many materials endorse the procedure of whole sentence
reading as the initial activity in beginning reading instruction.
This material has already been learned audio-lingually, of course. The A-LM text calls this reading exercise ’’mass association practice" and describes its purpose in this way:
"When students do this, they are of course merely picking up minimal letter cues from the printed page and reciting the material from memory. But good associations can be formed in this way, and the practice is an excellent morale builder, capitalizing as it does on the student's interest in the written word." (Level One, Teacher's Manual, p. 83)
During this reading activity, the teacher insists on normal speed and intonation, indicates natural breath groups, and avoids at this time the analysis or examination of individual words or letters. (Evans and Baldwin, 19&3> P* Ml8 )
The usual rational for beginning with entire utterances that have been memorized is that it enables the student to carry over into reading the same fluency and facility that he has gained with the spoken language. Mastery of the sound-symbol system is not expected to result automatically as an incidental product of this "mass association practice," as Lefevre expects will happen in the case of most students in English. Some systematic phonics instruction is included in most sets of materials. (See pages 100 to305 in this chapter on phonics instruction.)
Word-attack skills
A number of word-attack skills have been used successfully in foreign language reading instruction. Phonics 97 seems to be the predominant approach, especially at the secondary level. Some picture clues and sight word techniques are used at the FLES level. Context clues and structural analysis, particularly the study of affixes and word families, are generally delayed until later levels.
Word recognition by sight
Carroll (I96*f) warns us that '•concern with grapheme- phoneme correspondences, or 'phonics' as it is often called, should not distract us from the necessity for the reader to attain a rapid visual perception of printed words as wholes."
(p. 6 3 ) It is the rule more than the exception for foreign language materials to isolate sound-letter associations for study and drill immediately after oral reading drills of material mastered audio-lingually. Practice in sight word recognition is usually side-stepped in favor of phonic analysis. Cornfield recommends even bypassing initial whole sentence practice and advises intensive phonic instruction before the first connected reading experience occurs:
When all the phonemes which need attention have been thoroughly drilled so that the sound of the words has been associated with the sight of the printed form, the teacher writes on the board the sentence from which the phonemes were selected. These are read several times by teacher and student, making sure that the orig inal pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm are preserved. This will be the first time that the student sees the printed forms of the phrase groupings in this sentence. (p. 100) 98
There is some evidence that the importance of whole word and word group identification is recognized in foreign language reading instruction, even though techniques to develop these skills are not always used appropriately or effectively.
Mary Finocchiaro (1964) recommends "using all the word-learning techniques - - - normally used in the language arts program."
(p. 80) If the foreign language teacher were to copy the teaching of reading in the English language arts program, he would include more work on whole word recognition before beginning intensive phonics instruction. The main purpose of drilling sight words is to build the student's word recognition reserve to a level that will enable him to respond properly to eventual phonic instruction and will help him to make appropriate sound-symbol generalizations. He can hardly be expected to generalize about sound-symbol associations or to remember them if he does not have control of a sufficient number of words at the sight recognition level to illustrate and remind him of. the relationship. Word recognition is drilled in a few texts
(A-LM and Learning French the Modern Way). but these exercises usually follow phonics instruction and are used to illustrate a sound-letter correspondence already established. See
Appendix B, pages 210-213 for a description of these exercises.
Certain FLES materials are a little more conscientious about their treatment of whole word recognition than other 99
language texts. Je_ Sais Lire, the third book of Allyn and
Bacon's Elementary French Series makes extensive use of sight
word techniques including picture clues, labeling, matching,
completion, and identification exercises. (See Appendix B, page for a description of these techniques.) The first part of each reading unit in Let's Speak French gives practice
in word recognition. Picture clues are used to identify the
written text. Students practice reading the text by matching
sentences and words with the pictures and responding to oral
questions with the written material.
Stack (1966) recommends the use of picture cards for
the introduction of whole words and sentence reading. The
teacher shows a pictured object, asks what it is and then
shows the written form printed on the back which the students read. For sentence reading "a familiar array (The man/
arrives/ at the house/ at noon.) is shown in pictures, and
the backs of the cards are turned one at a time until the
sentence stands in writing." (p. 1?2) Stack describes a rapid word substitution drill using pictures which can be
used effectively to develop sight recognition:
. . . a four-unit sentence is displayed, using three pictures and one printed word. If the printed word is the subject of the sentence, other printed words can be substituted in quick succession, and the students make each new state ment aloud. They are now forced to rely on the printed word to complete the statement. New subject cards bearing words are dropped into place in rapid succession, and the class reads the printed word and completes the sentence-idea, 100
using pictures. . . Rapid recognition is possible. Accuracy of their reading is veri fied by the teacher, who turns the word card over to show the picture; the teacher then repeats the sentence, (p. 172)
Phonics
Considerable effort is made in foreign language reading
instruction to develop in the student some basic knowledge of
the association between sounds and their graphic representations.
In fact, phonics instruction is the main feature of most
beginning reading programs. Methods of presentation and the
order in which sounds are treated vary, but in general a
deductive approach is favored and in French the vowel sounds
receive the major emphasis.
Learning the foreign language alphabet is usually
considered a prerequisite to phonice instruction. This enables
the student to spell and identify letters in question by their
names in the foreign language. Words containing the sound-letter
associations to be studied are then usually presented first in
context, in the dialogue utterances or basic sentences in which
they have been learned. These words are next isolated,
pronounced, and listed with other known words illustrating the
same sound-symbol correspondence. This correspondence is then
explained deductively. In the A-LM Teacher's Manual the teacher
receives these instructions: "Explain that in these sentences
there are two representations for the sound / a 1/. Point to the 101 word frangais, pronounce it, then spell the sound /S/, indicating the letters as you spell. Do the same with comment.” (p. 95)
In English reading instruction authorities recommend that the relationship of the printed word to the sound be
established inductively. Stack remarks, "Indicate inductively what letters are silent (as the students look at _le chat, for
instance, ask how the final t_ is pronounced; the combination
ch; the a." (p. 172) If a number of spelling patterns are being contrasted, then a complete generalization should be
conducted. Unfortunately, phonic generalization are rare in
foreign language materials, although a new series to be published in 1969 entitled Premier Echelon does make some use of them in connection with grammatical observations. (For a
description see Appendix B, pages 213-215 .) The words should
then be put back in context and read. For an example of a phonic lesson taken from Voix et Images, see Appendix B, pages 215-216.
Valdman stresses the importance of formulating carefully ordered predictive rules. He demonstrates how the six spellings
of /k/ can be treated in three rules: "Once the student has been taught how to spell French vowels, it becomes possible
for him to provide the spelling of any instance of /k/ with
90 per cent accuracy on the basis of phonological information
alone with the aid of the three rules which follow. 102
1. /k/ followed by any vowel written with _i or _e is spelled _c|u; this includes the writing of final stable /k/ which is followed by mute-e written with the letter _e; 2. /k/ followed by a vowel written with _o, or u is spelled jc; 3. /k/""followed or preceded by another consonant is spelled _c. (p. ^73)
The Level I Audio-Lingual Materials make use of four different reading drills to provide practice in phonics. The interference drill is used to help the learner to overcome the tendency to assign English values to familiar letters. "This important drill elicits an oral response to French letters or letter sequences that signal something quite different to the native speaker of English, such as u, an, _in, °£*" (P* ^3»
Teacher's Manual) Graphic minimal pairs are drilled to give
the student practice in distinguishing written forms that do not exist in English (the difference between the letters _e and
8,. for example). Sound contrasts in French that are difficult
for the American student are practiced in a drill called graphic representations of difficult sound contrasts. Because of the pronunciation difficulties here, it is hoped that special
drill on the written differences (ou/u, for example) will "help
to focus the student's attention on the corresponding differ
ences in sound." (p. 83) A final drill called syllable pairs provides practice on pairs that have the same sound but are
represented differently graphically: pon/pom, ton/tom, etc.
(For other techniques used in foreign language phonics
instruction, see Appendix B, pages 216-219. 103
It was noted that in reading instruction in English, phonics instruction usually begins with the initial consonants.
In most French texts, it is the vowel system that is given primacy, sometimes to the exclusion of consonant study. The emphasis on vowel study is explained in the Let1s Speak French series: "The reading recognition lessons emphasize the vowel sounds, which present greater difficulty than do consonants which are usually closer to the English sounds. The students will learn the sounds of French consonants inductively, as they learn the vowel sounds." (p. l) It seems natural to concentrate first on certain vowel sounds, since they will probably consitute a greater problem for the American student than many of the consonants which do often receive near-equivalent pronunciations. However, it is foolish to think that French consonants do not present many problems to the student. One has only to look at the variety of orthographic equivalents for the sounds /k/ and /s/ to realize this:
symbol example c car k kilo A/ q cin^ ch chretien qu quand X ejccuse
s jsentir ss assez c _cent A/ c framjais t attention X dix sc scie
(Politzer 104
All of the phonic elements cannot be taught in one large phonic unit. This has been attempted at the college level. These texts present all of the sound-symbol correspon- denceein the introductory lessons. It is unreasonable to think that students can master all of these elements in several lessons. What is more, sound-letter relationships are meaning less to a student who has not yet learned to make the sounds.
Written representations are not easily learned unless the student's sight vocabulary contains enough words to illustrate a certain spelling pattern. These are further arguments for requiring previous audio-lingual mastery and for drilling sight words before formal phonics instruction is begun.
The teaching of phonics is a gradual process. This requires setting up a double track in the reading program. Lado describes this arrangement:
On one track is laid out systematically the association of sounds and symbols. On the other is handled the reading of sentences already mastered orally. The second track cannot wait for all the elements to be taught in the first; when something is needed out of normal sequence, teach it without analysis. (p. 137)
The order in which phonic elements should be presented is not of great consequence, as long as some systematic plan is followed which introduces regular forms before the irregular ones. It has already been noted that the usual plan is to 105 concentrate on the vowel first. Lado makes this comment:
The order of presentation on the graded track cannot be prescribed in any single sequence; various cumulative arrangements are equally defensible. In general, regular patterns can be taught first, followed by problems due to interference from the source writing; next, problems caused by multiple patterns of fit can be presented and the exceptions taught as needed. (p. 137)
Context clues
In English reading instruction, there are two principal ways in which context clues are used. First, context is used at the beginning level to help identify a word known to the reader in his speaking vocabulary, but unfamiliar to him in print because it is not part of his sight vocabulary or because he is unable to use phonic analysis to unlock its pronunciation.
Secondly, context clues are used to help the reader unlock the meanings of words that are completely unknown to him. Since the foreign language learner reads only what he has learned audio-lingually, he is never asked in the beginning to identify words that he has not recently memorized in spoken form. Thus, he will not use context clues in the way it is first described.
Eventually as his reading progresses to later stages in which he will be presented words and other items that he has not spoken previously, he will have to get the meanings of unknown words. Therefore, it is the second use of context clues described above that is employed in foreign language 106 instruction, and this is not usually utilized until the student reaches more advanced stages in his reading.
The student, however, has already been exposed to many of the techniques used in discovering meaning through context in his early vocabulary learning. Definitions, opposites, synonyms, dramatizations are some of the methods used that provide meaningful spoken contexts through which the student can arrive at the full sense of a word or expression.
There is no reason why these same techniques cannot be used early in the student's reading activities.
Developing skill in the use of context clues is extremely important for the foreign language reader and such instruction cannot be begun too soon. It was pointed out in
Chapter II that techniques in the use of context clues have to be systematically taught to students. It seems only logical that this instruction should be begun at early levels so that by the time t h ’e student has a real need for these skills, he will have them at his disposal.
An informal experiment in team teaching was performed recently at the Laboratory Schools at the University of
Chicago to present the concept of context clue power to students in two French classes. A reading specialist visited the classes three times and discussed the use of cognates, ways of getting meaning through context, and flexibility of reading rate. A number of techniques was introduced to show students 107 how they could improve their word knowledge power. After these
three sessions the following behavioral change was noted in the
students during their reading: "Students tend to focus on the
thought of a passage as they search the context for clues to
the meaning of words." (Finstein and Thomas, 1967* p. 382)
The Northeast Conference on Reading in 1963 recommended
that inferring meanings from context should be begun as soon as students start reading contrived material not previously learned audiolingually which is introduced at the end of the
first level. The problem is that most texts do not provide opportunities for the student to discover meanings through
context, since all the new words are glossed with definitions or translations or identified as cognates. If the student is
to receive practice in using context clues, he cannot be given all the meanings ahead of time. What is more, if he is to understand and be aware of the processes involved in using
context clues, he must be given regular practice through planned exercises and guided questions. These exercises and
questions are conspicuously absent from present first and second
level materials.
At the end of the tenth unit in the Audio-Lingual
Materials, the first contrived narrative is introduced. All
of the new words are explained in the margin. The context in
which some of these words appear is sufficient enough, with
some guidance on the part of the teacher, to identify their meanings. It would seem advisable at this point not to provide the meanings of the words that could be guessed and
to give the student an opportunity to develop his skills in
the use of context by helping him arrive at the meaning himself
through appropriate questioning. In the narrative in Unit Ten
the word nouveaux appears for the first time and is explained
in the margin by this definition: qui ne sont pas les merries.
Yet this very definition can be inferred from the context in which the word appears: A son avis, il faut aussi trouver de nouveaux gargons: toujours les memes gargons, ga manque
d 1 intlr^t. Many more examples like this one could be offered.
It is the opinion of this author that time would be better
spent and the reading exercise would be more interesting for
the student if the meanings of words like the one example above
were developed through a discussion of context rather than
being directly explained in a marginal definition.
The use of context clues requires patience- and a
tolerance for vagueness on the part of the foreign language
student. It is not always easy for him to achieve this
attitude since his linguistic resources are minimal and do not
offer him the confident, secure base he may feel necessary
before he is willing to make inferences about unknown words.
Nevertheless, it is important to give the student these
experiences early, for the sooner he develops confidence in
his guessing power in the foreign language, the sooner he 109 will deny his dependence on the mother tongue for meaning and affirm his independence in the target laguage. The Northeast
Conference on Reading offers sound advice concerning this problem:
The student should be reminded constantly that clues to meaning may be found not only before but also after a new word appears and that patience is in order. He should also be told to tolerate a certain amount of nebulousness and to let subsequent encounters with the new word bring it into sharper focus. At the same time the teacher should reciprocate and exercise patience when the student demonstrates that he has learned to accept vagueness, (p. 5 8 )
Freeman Twaddell, who introduces the second level materials of the Holt series, Parler et Lire, stresses the importance and difficulty of instruction in the use of context clues and identifies it as a principal aim of the second level course:
It is a skill which must be developed as soon and as completely as possible in our students1 reading in the FL. Of course the development is not simple: in fact, the second-level course can do no more than begin to develop FL habits of sensible guessing along with the increased resources to which the skill can be applied. But the development of those habits is a major objec tive of the course, and the teaching methodology must be focused to encourage the development, in the facfe of the very considerable difficul ties. (p. 16 )
In a book entitled Skills and Techniques for Reading
French (1958) Seibert and Crocker have devoted an entire chapter to "Guessing Word Meanings by Inferences from the
Context." There are numerous techniques and exercises 110 suggested to develop this skill in this chapter. (See Appendix B for examples, pages 219 to 222.) Although the book is intended primarily as a supplement to the fundamental college reading course, there are many helpful ideas that could be'used effec tively at the secondary level.
Structural analysis
One would be safe in assuming that in the following statement Valdman is asking for more and earlier attention to structural analysis in foreign language reading:
Foreign language teachers would be well advised to first introduce the written word as a direct representation of spoken form, but sooner or later, and the sooner the better, the students must come to understand the nature of the target language writing system and learn to identify and use the visual cues that bear only an indirect relationship to acoustic signals. (p. ^73)
The third person ending -ent is an example of a written form which has no spoken equivalent except for the occasional
/t/ sound in such environments as ils doivent y aller demain.
Nevertheless, this written inflection is an important meaning-bearing cue to the reader, and his task will be easier if he has learned to recognize the meanings of such visual cues quickly and automatically. For example in inverted sentences the reader who picks up rapidly the meaning of the
-ent inflection will anticipate the coming of a plural subject, will comprehend the total meaning more rapidly, and will not be forced to regress for a second perusal of separate elements Ill to get the complete pattern. An example of such a sentence might b e : Que trouvent le petit Philippe et son ami Paul dans la vieille maison? Upon seeing the -ent of trouvent, a good reader should note the coming of a plural subject, and seeing le petit Philippe, he should then expect a compound of some
sort. Appropriate reading drills should be provided to give
the student practice in using specific visual cues to facilitate his comprehension.
Of course, most of the forms dealt with in structural analysis do have spoken equivalents and include derivational prefixes and suffixes as well as grammatical inflections. Most grammatical inflections are treated in generalizations or in more traditional texts in formal statements of grammar rules.
The written representations of these inflections are practiced in various writing drills. Except for the reading of pattern drills suggested by Politzer, to this author's knowledge there are no systematically planned reading drills in foreign language materials that are constructed solely for the purpose of giving the student practice in the rapid recognition of
the meaning-bearing inflectional elements in sentences.
The study of prefixes, suffixes, word families, and
syllabification is usually postponed until the second and
third levels, if it is treated at all. The second book by
Dale and Dale, Cours Moyen, does include some coverage of word families. The related words are listed together with a 112 few explanatory remarks arid then fill-in exercises are offered to provide practice in selecting the various forms.
The Petit Dictionnaire of the second level Parler et Lire in the Holt series lists word families and provides definitions and illustrative sentences, but there are no practice exercises provided. The third level text of the Holt series Lire, Parler, et Ecrire contains reading exercises designed to give practice in the recognition of word families and noun, adjectival, and adverbial forming suffixes. The Audio-Lingual Materials wait until Level III before including prefix, suffix, and word family study as a regular, systematic part of the instructional materials, although some treatment of syllabification occurs in the level two course. The Word Study sections that appear in Levels III and IV are described in the Manuals in this way:
The Word Study section is intended to make it possible for the student to recognize the mean ing of many new words without the aid of marginal glosses by pointing out, for example the relation ship of verbs to nouns, adjectives, or adverbs, and the meanings of prefixes and suffixes. Each Word Study gives examples of known words that illustrate the principle being presented, follow ed by new words of the same type appearing in the reading selection of the unit. . . . Once a prin ciple has been presented, it is expected that additional words that follow that principle will be recognizable. (p. 6, Manual, Level III)
There are no systematic reading exercises developed to facilitate the recognition of the principles that is expected to occur. (See
Appendix B, pages 222-225 for examples of exercises of the use of structural analysis in foreign language reading.) 113
The delay of structural analysis to later levels in foreign language reading is generally in accord with procedures in English reading instruction. One of the main reasons for this postponement is made clear in the explanation given in the first level A-LM Manual for delaying the study of syllable division until later levels: "In order to encourage students to read words and sentences as wholes rather than to emphasize syllable division, complete treatment of syllabification has been postponed until a later level." (p. 8 5 )
Reading for Meaning
There is no question that grasping the meaning of the foreign language is the primary concern of every student.
The teaching of meaning is, therefore, the main responsibility of the teacher and the materials he uses. To assure mastery of meaning in early foreign language reading texts, many materials have attempted to follow the step-by-step organization suggested by Scherer in his programmed reading approach. Scherer (196*0 makes the following recommendations for the introduction of new lexical and grammatical units in the reading text:
1. The density of new words should not exceed one new word in about every 35 running words or in every three or four lines of text in which every thing else is known or too obvious to gloss. 2. The new words or expressions must be spaced as evenly as possible. If several new words must be introduced in a shorter space, there should be a compensating wider spread before another ne w item is introduced. Ilk
3. The vocabulary must be as useful as possible. If the final goal of 5000 or more common words is to be achieved, the use of a word that has little chance of being repeated in other contexts is a luxury that cannot often be afforded. k. Words that are obvious to the student need not be counted as new words, and will serve to bring the vocabulary forward more rapidly. For instance, true or reasonably true cognates and also loan words need not be regarded as new. . . . Names of places that are similar in the two languages and at the same time easily inferable from the context as being proper names can also be ignored in counting ne w words. 5. The language should be deliberately manipulated so as to set up as many inferential situations as possible. New words should be surrounded by contextual clues so that it is possible to infer the meaning. (Harcourt Brace Teacher1 s Notebook, Spring, 1 9 6 ^, pages not numbered)
Such programming to make meaning more accessible to the student is supposedly incorporated in the following reading materials:
1. Audio-Lingual Materials, Levels II, III, IV - ’’Both structure and vocabulary are controlled. The number of new words, with the exception of easily recognizable cognates, which are marked, is limited to one in every 3 0 to 35 running words. Every new word is glossed in the margin, and it is repeated as soon and as often as possible in the same and succeeding reading selections. (Level II Manual, p. 20)
2. Reading for Meaning, Harcourt, Brace and World - Students should be able to read these selections easily and with pleasure upon completion of two levels of classroom instruction. Structure and vocabulary are carefully controlled, one new word in every. hundred and are glossed in the right-hand margin. Easily recognizable cognates are marked with a special symbol (*). (Foreward, no page number) 115
3. Programmed French Readers: Contes pour Dlbutants, Arsene Lupin, and La Robe et Le Couteau, Houghton, Mifflin Co. - The number of new words is strictly limited, their re-entry frequent, and new grammat ical elements appear progressively. . . . All the words of the stories are defined in French, both in the visible vocabulary which appears on the left-hand pages of the text proper and in the end vocabulary. . . . An effort was made to avoid clusters of new words by introducing them one by one and having them re-appear at frequent intervals; this procedure was, however, ruled out whenever it conflicted with style. (Preface, pp. vii-viii)
Besides the graded reading approach to control vocabulary and structure, other means such as marginal glosses, footnotes, end vocabularies, and inter-linear translations are used in reading materials to convey meaning. At intermediate and advanced levels in reading, when the student has reached the
"post-nucleation" stage (i.e. he has established a foundation in listening, speaking, reading, and writing the foreign language but has reached a plateau where further proficiency cannot be developed without achieving an understanding of underlying structural and cultural meanings), Belasco advocates the use of bilingual texts which will enable the student to associate the correct cultural concept with the linguistic form in the foreign language. The format of the text is organized in two columns so that the English is in the first column and the French is to its right. Belasco defends this approach and the sequence of English, then French by saying, 116
. . . I am not opting for the grammar-translation method. What I am doing is assigning a role to translation in the post-nucleation stage. . . . Note that I am even making a departure from the usual procedure with bilingual texts. It is customary to read the foreign language first, then the English equivalent as difficulty is encountered. I have found the opposite to be true. By first reading short sections in English, then referring to the foreign language, the idiomatic expressions and structural rela tions stand out in bold relief. (pp« 8*1— 8 5 )
Joseph Ebacher of Xavier University has edited a number of French literary selections as a part of the Prentice-Hall
Programmed Reading Series using his own system of interlinear translation to help the student with problems in meaning and comprehension. His method is described in this way:
The format consists of a foreign language text, an interlinear vocabulary, and a plastic grid, which is placed over the page to conceal the vocabulary. When the student needs to, he can slide the grid down, note the English equivalent of the word, raise the grid, and continue read ing. The interlinear vocabularies contain only thosewords that the student would otherwise have to look up. They are translated the first few times they occur. Thereafter it is hoped that there will be automatic comprehension. With no English equivalent given, the student soon learns to rely upon his self-acquired skill. (book cover, no page)
It is obvious from the preceding examination of materials that considerable effort is made in the preparation of foreign language reading materials to minimize the problems
for the student and to promote better comprehension. In
Chapter II it was noted that there are several stages and 117 levels of comprehension involving a number of specialized skills. The purpose of the step-by-step organization of programmed readers is primarily to facilitate the reader's literal comprehension or his ability to recognize the basic literal meaning of the text. Of course, other abilities besides understanding the basic meanings of specific lexical items need to be developed to guarantee adequate literal comprehension, to enable the reader to interpret and infer meanings at a higher level, and to allow him to react critically to what he has read. To what extent do methods and materials in foreign language reading instruction provide for these stages of comprehension?
Literal comprehension
When the student has completed a reading assignment, it becomes the immediate task of the classroom teacher and the authors of text books to determine what the student has understood. A number of procedures are used to test literal comprehension including true-false exercises, multiple choice sentences, summaries, paraphrases, and even translation, although the favorite device is probably the direct question.
For the most part, the lists of questions appearing after reading selections concentrate on details and require a
thorough retention of the content. 118
Checking comprehension at this level is certainly a necessary step that should be conducted in a purposeful, meaningful way and lead to higher levels of comprehension.
Too frequently the factual question is used solely for the purpose of testing the retention of trivial details. Although this activity does provide for some conversational practice of the reading material, it is often a tiring, uninteresting exercise for the students who fail to see the reason for repeating word for word the literal content of a passage they have just read. Understanding details is important and purpose ful only if it leads to a broader comprehension of the relationships of elements in the reading passage and a clearer picture of the organization and plan of the selection. The reader should note the way details are used to support main ideas, to develop characterization, to describe setting, and to further actions in the story. To note a detail simply for the sake of retaining it or of answering a question is a pointless exercise. Unfortunately the purpose of classroom questioning does not often extend beyond this function: finding details in answer to questions that relate to nothing and lead nowhere. Eeichman indicates what the foreign language teacher's interest in detail should be at intermediate levels of instruction and how he can use it most effectively in his questioning procedures:
In dealing with detail, we are interested in the function of detail and thfe interaction of a group 119
of details. (What is the function of a within the frame of A? How do bl + + b3 achieve B?) Detail serves documentation. (Can you document and discuss briefly the author's/ the villain's/ the hero's attitude toward love/ society/ religion/ war/ fatherland?) We are interested in detail primarily because it is essential in and for the analysis of composite problems and ideas. Understanding grows as the reasons and motives become clearer through examination, (p. 2 5 9 )
Foreign language materials provide a variety of activities to test literal comprehension (See Appendix B, pages 2 2 5 -2 3 0 . ), but there is still a great need to give
these exercises and questions on detail more purpose by using
them as carefully planned steps to higher levels of comprehen
sion. There is a need even at the most elementary stages in reading to go beyond the literal level where most comprehension
testing in foreign languages has a tendency to stop and to
encourage students to think about the implications of literal meanings and to react to them on a more personal level.
Interpretive and critical reading
The foreign language student is usually not asked to
step outside the confines of the literal comprehension stage
and participate in the more advanced levels of interpretive
and critical reading until he is able to understand and speak
the language with a fair amount of proficiency. It is considered heresy to allow the student to think about his reading material
creatively and critically until he has enough language under 120 his belt to enable him to do this without making gross errors.
There are some serious oversights apparent in this attitude which is quite prevalent among foreign language teaching experts today. First the students can be trained to think creatively about their reading material and to do so correctly within the limitations of their linguistic resources even at elementary levels of language instruction. To illustrate this point, the author has found that first-year students are quite capable of handling inference questions over the content in memorized dialogue materials. In the first line of a dialogue concerning a scooter ride that a young French boy is about to give to his girlfriend, the girl who is not quite seated on the scooter says, Attends,
,je ne suis pas encore installee! After considerable drilling on this particular line, the author stopped and asked the question: Et si Jean-Louis n 1attend pas, qu1est-ce qui va arriver? The students understood the question since it was within the vocabulary and structural limitations of their previous language experience. This was not an information question but an inference question asking the students to think about possibilities and make a prediction. After some reflection, one of the students answered: Si Jean-Louis n*attend pas, Gabrielle va tomber. This answer was correct, because the student had been taught to rely upon the corpus 121 of language in which he had developed competency, and not to
"create" beyond this level. And yet he was able to interpret an inference question and provide a simple but suitable response. There is no reason why this cannot be done with beginning reading materials as well.
There is a second oversight in this attitude of
"language competency before creative thinking" in second language learning. Reaching an advanced level or an adequate level of proficiency to handle the language with ease does not auto matically guarantee that the student will then be able to engage in interpretative and critical reading. These skills have to be taught and the sooner such instruction is begun the better chance the student has of becoming the kind of reader he is expected to become so Suddenly at advanced levels.
Helen Robinson (1 9 6 7 ) in an article in the anthology Critical
Reading discusses research that showed that students learn to read in accordance with the purposes set for reading by their teachers. Students in high school showed a "tendency toward fact remembering with little ability to evaluate and react."
(p. Mf) Similar findings were reported in research by Guszak who draws this conclusion, "As evidenced by the high congruence of immediate responses, the students have learned quite well to parrot back an endless recollection of trivia." (p. 23*0
By overemphasizing literal comprehension at all levels of foreign language reading instruction and by delaying creative 122 reading activities until later levels, we are conditioning the student to respond to his reading in a very limited way and denying him the opportunity of developing fully his reading potential in the language.
Mother Raymond de J^sus makes an appeal for including more interpretive reading in foreign language instruction beginning at the FLES level:
Exercises in comprehension, drawing inferences, finding the main idea, choosing an appropriate title, recognizing the sequence of events, establishing comparisons, sharing the feelings expressed by the author, discussing his ideas, applying them in other concrete situations, anticipating conclusions, etc., should have as much place in a well-planned FLES program as in any other. Espceially is this true of the inter- pretational skills. (p. 7 2 )
Larew also defends the cause of "reading as thinking" at the
FLES level and describes the challenge that this instruction presents to the teacher:
Reading involves much more than merely getting the meaning from a page; it is an active process that involves all types of thinking, evaluating, imagining, judging, problem solving and reason ing. Reading involves the emotional processes as well. It takes much effort, intelligence and creative teaching to guide a class of students to' think in any language; it is more difficult than teaching a skill or vocabulary of word analysis. A special climate of respect for opinions, differences and personalities must prevail in the classroom. (p. 8l2)
Cornfield recognizes the necessity of carefully planned instruction in interpretive reading which she calls 123
"reading between the lines." She also points out that this kind of instruction is frequently neglected in the foreign language classroom.
Learning to read between the lines is a skill which must be developed carefully in the student. He needs to be led and guided by the teacher to acquire the necessary habits, skills, and insight. Interpretation and evaluation are more difficult to teach and are frequently overlooked by many teachers who do not go beyond the literal reading of a text. (p. 102)
Cornfield presents a list of procedures which are intended to help the student think about and react to what he is reading. Most of these techniques are activities which this author would consider to be ways of effecting appropriate literal comprehension, since they involve finding key words, relating important details to main ideas, outlining, paraphras ing and summarizing. She does include a few exercises, however, which would encourage interpretive and critical reading on the part of the student:
Find the items in the selection with which you agree. Find the items in the selection with which you disagree. Can you give reasons? Could you give the selection another title? What would you choose and why? Can you give this story a different ending? What generalizations can you make after reading the selection? (pp. 1 0 3 -1 0 6 )
Level IV of the Audio-Lingual Materials encourages intepretive reading of the informal prose selections that introduce each unit. The questions after these reading sections require making comparisons and contrasts, analyzing character, interpreting characters' beliefs and opinions in light of their statements and actions in the text, making inferences about characters' motives, predicting possible future actions and conjecturing about related situations, and expressing personal views about statements and situations in the text. (See Appendix B for sample questions, page.
230 .) The comprehension exercises that follow each reading unit in the third book of the Holt Series, Lire, Parler, et
Ecrire end_yrith an activity requiring critical reactions to the reading by the student. This exercise entitled Que pensez-vous de ce num&ro? asks the students to compare the reading texts in the unit and to evaluate them in terms of a given list of adjectives. (See Appendix B page231 for an example of this exercise.)
In upper division and graduate courses at the college level and in some advanced placement classes at the secondary level the technique of explication de texte is utilized. This method requires a detailed study of every element in the text including a careful examination of composition and style followed by a phrase-by-phrase and often word-by-word interpretation of meaning. The objective of this process is to arrive at a complete understanding of the ultimate meaning of a literary piece and to see clearly in what way the relationship and interaction of form and content contribute 125 to this meaning. This is a highly formalized procedure which prescribes the method of analysis and the order in which these analytic steps are to be taken. Many interpretive and critical thinking skills are needed to perform this kind of reading.
The student who has received some instruction in interpretive and critical reading techniques at earlier levels will certainly be better prepared to tackle textual explication at advanced levels.
Summary
This chapter reviewed foreign language reading instruction in terms of methods and classroom techniques.
The following conclusions are in order:
1. An initial audio-lingual phase is considered an
essential prerequisite to beginning reading
instruction.
2. The task of the American student learning to
read French is both simplified and complicated
by the use of the Roman alphabet. He is already
familiar with the written characters, but will
have a tendency to assign English values to them.
3. Beginning with whole sentence reading is advocated
in most materials but this procedure is used
primarily to introduce certain phonic elements
for analysis. 126
^t. The principal method of word-attack in foreign
language reading instruction is phonics, although
a few other word recognition techniques are used
especially at the FLES level. Phonics instruction
is usually deductive and little use is made of
phonic generalizations.
5. The use of context clues and structural analysis
as word-attack skills is usually delayed until
advanced levels.
6. Programmed reading materials controlling vocabulary
and structure are available in French and follow
the principles recommended by George Scherer.
7. There is a heavy emphasis on literal comprehension
in foreign language reading instruction at all
levels.
8. Interpretive and critical reading procedures are not
treated at early levels and receive only scant
attention at advanced levels. CHAPTER IV
METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE READING INSTRUCTION
Differences Between First and Second Language Reading
Reading Readiness
English reading instruction
The first-grader or pre-school child who is learning to read approaches the task with many linguistic resources already at his disposal. First he is a fluent speaker of the language who has probably mastered most of the phonological elements and is well on his way to understanding, if not producing, most of the syntactical and morphological components of his language. The five and six year old beginning reader is also blessed with a rather generous speaking vocabulary.
McKee comments that the average vocabulary of the first-grader is "probably not less than 5000 words and there has been research that suggests that it is far larger than this."
(1966, p. 27) The linguistic sophistication that the child brings to the reading act simplifies the instructional process considerably. Since most of the linguistic prerequisites have
127 been mastered, there are few limitations on the language patterns that can be presented and the order of their presentation. The large speaking vocabulary of the first-grader provides a wide range within which to create interesting reading materials that include only the common core of words that the reader can say.
This linguistic experience has not provided the child with all of the skills that he will need before he can begin to read, although it has given him the most important. To read the child must also learn to discriminate certain written symbols, to fellow them in a certain prescribed order, and to understand that these written characters are visual representa tions of what he can say. In other words, he must learn to distinguish the letters of the alphabet, he must develop the habit of seeing these letters and the words and phrases that they make in a left-to-right sequence, and he must associate with these letters and their combinations the sounds and meanings that they represent. Therefore, the pre-reader will need continued instruction in understanding and using the spoken language to refine his perception and production of the sound system, to develop an awareness and understanding of the language patterns he uses, and to increase his speaking vocabulary. He will need practice in visual discrimination to enable him to distinguish various shapes and sizes of letters and perceive their differences. He will need practice 129 in following letters from left-to-right across the page in order to habituate his eye-movements to this sequence. He will need practice in understanding the symbolic process: that what he can say can be represented visually. This last process is probably best achieved by first associating letters, words, and sentences with pictures.
Advantages and disadvantages of the second language pre-reader
Coleman (1929) speaking of the Foreign Language Study and of Buswell's experiments in reading, makes this statement:
"This investigation and the recent Buswell study provide considerable evidence that the same general principles apply to the process of learning to read a foreign language, despite the definite advantage in vocabulary that the child possesses when he attacks the printed page in the mother tongue and the further great advantage that he is engaged in oral composition in the vernacular during a large part of each day." (p. l6o)
The process of reading is the same in the foreign language, then. It may become an easier or more difficult process for the second language learner depending on his linguist accomplishments in the language before he begins to read and the previous reading habits he has already established in his native language. 130
The foreign language student cannot hope to match the child's prereading linguistic training. He could not match this achievement in the classroom with even five or more years of audio-lingual training in the language. Accord ing to the amount of material recommended to be covered by certain texts, exactly how much is the student supposed to know in the language before he begins to read? The illus tration on page 131, comparing A-LM, Learning French the
Modern Way, and Voix et Images, which are the only texts that prescribe a definite number of lessons to be finished before beginning reading instruction, describes this knowledge.
Under the heading Vocabulary in this illustration are included both separate words and idioms. The phonemes counted were only the sounds that the students were asked to speak. The points listed under Grammar include only those points that are systematically drilled and upon which generalizations are based and not those points that appear incidentally in the dialogues or other sections of the materials in these beginning lessons.
The number of vocabulary items that the foreign language student knows, if he has learned the material well,
(some 250 in the case of A-LM and Voix et Images, but less
than 100 after one unit of Learning French the Modern Way)
cannot begin to compare with the impressive 5000 word speaking vocabulary of the first-grader. ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT IN THE PEEEEADING LESSONS OF THEEE FEENCH TEXTS
Texts Vocabulary Phonemes Grammar Points 1. All subject pronouns A-LM - after 255 all the 2. All forms of avoir 4 units phonemes 3. All forms of the definite article but / Jl / b. All forms of the present tense of the -er verbs studied
1. All forms of the definite article Learning French 71 all the 2. All forms of the direct object the Modern Way phonemes pronouns
- after 1 unit but / / / • • The negative formjie - - - pas The interrogative form est-ce que
1. All forms of the definite and indefinite articles 2. The possessive forms mon, ma, votre, son, sa 3. The present of a. -er verbs in all persons b. avoir in all persons Voix et Images 269 all the c. ©tre with je, tu, vous, il - after 6 units phonemes and the forms c'est and ce but /J) / sont d. faire with tu, elle, and je b. The negative form ne - - - pas 5. _laLone and plus definite article in the environment of (dnnner V{!montrer N (parler 6. de alone and with definite article in the environment of N N. The interrogative pronoun quel 7. 131 132
The phoneme picture looks a little brighter. All of the phonemes but one have been presented in the prereading material of these texts. How well these sounds have been mastered is another question. It is safe to assume that even after six units of study that some of these sounds are still not being produced properly. Valette (1964), who kept a careful record of her son's bilingual progress as he acquired a fluent speaking command of
French over a nine month period using only the foreign language for the greater part of each day, noted that the phonological component was not completely mastered until the end of this time. (p. 97) This gives some idea of what can be expected of the student who has only one forty-five minute foreign language class daily. Finally, it goes without saying that the student has hardly begun his study of the various language patterns at the end of the prereading period in these three texts.
Although this description of the foreign language student's linguistic accomplishments at the end of the prereading period paints a rather sketchy picture, it is not as dismal as it appears. First it must be remembered that the double track described by Lado is in force until the student knows the sound-symbol system well enough and has learned enough language to enable him to read unfamiliar material. The double track assures audio-lingual coverage of all material before it is read. Certainly in these 250 or more words and expressions that are learned in the prereading period there are enough words to 133 start building a basic sight vocabulary that will eventually be used in making certain sound-symbol generalizations. Of course, the number of vocabulary items is increasing constantly as the audio-lingual track continues. For example, in the
A-LM text, out of the 255 vocabulaty items presented in
the prereading period, there are twelve examples of the on -
/ 2?/ sound-letter correspondence, certainly a sufficient number
to illustrate the relationship.
Although it is quite certain that the student will not have
achieved a perfect pronunciation at the end of four or six units, he will probably have deveoped one that is easily comprehensible and fluent if he has received good instruction and has learned
the material well. Of course, it is important that the student's pronunciation be comprehensible to the native speaker of the
language, but what is most important in the reading act is that
his pronunciation be fluent in order to afford fluent and meaning
ful reading. This author, who has known only a few of those rare
individuals who ever achieve a perfect, "near native" pronunciation,
thinks that the following pronouncement by the Northeast Conference
on Reading is most unreasonable: "Reading for meaning in the
fullest sense of the term can hardly exist without almost faultless pronunciation." (p. 53) If this statement were true, there would
be very few second language learners who are able to read that
language "in the fullest sense of the term," since very few ever 13^ achieve ’’almost faultless pronunciation." To read fluently the student must pronounce fluently; there is no question about this fact. But that fluent pronunciation can be his own as well as one that meets all of the requirements of perfect native standards.
Naturally the foreign language teacher should insist at all times on the best pronunciation that the student is capable of producing, but the principal requirement that must be met before reading is begun is that the student*s pronunciation of the material to be read be fluent and easily comprehensible.
The small number of vocabulary items and the relatively few structures that the student has been exposed to certainly limit the content of the beginning reading material. It is advisable to restrict the student’s first reading experiences to the same material that he has learned audio-lingually. However, if is remarkable what variety can be obtained with only 250 vocabulary items and say seven or eight basic structures.
Interesting reading material can be devised from the very limited linguistic resources that the foreign language student brings to his first reading experiences. (See Appendix C, pages 233-235 for examples of recombined narratives that can be produced within the range of the students' linguistic accomplishments after only four units of study at the first level of instruction.) It is the opinion of this author that interesting recombined narratives can and should be included in the first reading lessons for the sake of interest and to give the student the feeling that he is 135 really reading rather than simply repeating memorized material while looking at a printed page. Of course, the teacher should model these brief narratives first for the student, since there are new combinations and rearrangements of the material he has already learned audio-lingually. When the student approaches this recombined material, he is forced to assume a more correct reading attitude than he has when reading printed material he has memorized, since he is meeting new arrangements and grasping new meanings as he proceeds.
The minimal linguistic accomplishment that the second language learner achieves during the prereading phase is a disadvantage to be sure, but one that can be overcome if the double track is maintained throughout the first year of instruc tion and if a carefully planned reading program is established.
However, Coleman (1930) is quick to point out the advantages that the older foreign language reader has over his six year old counterpart: "... the high school freshman beginning to read a modern language has such an immense advantage over the six year old in maturity and in the fact that he has, presumably, already attained the reading attitude in English, that this goes much further to level down the differences than one might think."
(p. 110) The student has already learned to read one language, and if he has learned to do so properly and with good habits, his eyes are accustomed to following rapidly and in appropriate thought groups the sequence of written symbols. He already understands 136 the symbolic process, that the writing he sees is a visual representation of the language and can "say something to him."
(Lefevre, p. 39) These previously acquired reading habits should be an advantage to him as he begins to read a second language.
Recommendations for the Prereading Stage
In speaking of learning to read English as a foreign language, Scott recommends an audio-lingual approach:
In learning to read a foreign language, the condi tions under which the learning processes must proceed are certainly different. Some control over the patterns of spoken English, especially the intonational and rhythmic patterns, must be expected if the process of reading the English writing system is to be developed with reasonable skill. This is precisely why the audio-lingual approach to teaching English as a foreign language does not exclude reading skill as one of its goals, but rather insists that, in the learning process, skill in speaking English must be achieved before skill in reading English can be properly realized. . . . Any approach to the teaching of reading which is not based upon a solid foundation of audio-lingual drill is also both theoretically unsound and practically ineffectual. (pp- 5^2-5^)
This statement holds true for any foreign language.
Therefore, an extended audio-lingual prereading phase is an indispensable prerequisite to beginning reading. The length of this period should be determined by the linguistic needs of the beginning reader. It is recommended here that the follow ing accomplishments be attained during the audio-lingual period to facilitate reading instruction once it is begun. A speaking vocabulary that is large enough to permit the acquisition of a sight vocabulary in reading that will contain sufficient examples of the first sound-letter associations to be presented to enable the students to generalize. If the materials are conversational in nature, i.e. the language is presented in dialogue form and its structures are practiced in question-answer and pattern drill exercises, it is unlikely that such a vocabulary will be attained before a number of conversations are learned, since the learning of long lists of vocabulary items is de-emphasized in dialogue-centered materials.
A pronunciation of the prereading material that is completely fluent and easily comprehensible.
Considerable oral practice to the point of memori zation will be required by most students to develop this fluency.
Enough vocabulary and structure to permit the composition of interesting recombined materials which will constitute the first material that is truly read. The construction of such materials is not conceivable in French without a number of sentence patterns (including such patterns as
N V N, N VI Adj, and N V Adv) used in negative 138
and interrogative variations, a considerable
group of substantives and the common determiners
that accompany them (articles and possessive forms),
the present tense of a dpzen or more action verbs,
the present tense of the verb _to be^, a few descrip
tive adjectives and adverbs, and a few of the most
common prepositions. This represents a considerable
body of material and would constitute from five to
eight units in most audio-lingual texts for students
in secondary schools.
4. The students should know the names of the letters
of the foreign language alphabet.
A Comparison of Methods and Resulting Recommendations
Breaking the Code
The writing system
Because of the irregularity of fit between sounds and
their written representations in both English and French, the use
of phonemic transcriptions and other simplified writing systems has been proposed in the initial stages of reading instruction.
Efforts to achieve a closer one-to-one relationship between
sounds and letters have resulted in the creation of new
"single-sound" alphabets such as "Unifon" and the "i/t/a" in
English. Attempts to simplify the beginning reader's problems
with the irregular traditional orthography in foreign languages
are usually effected through the use of transcription. Color 139 cues, cross-out marks over silent letters, and other symbols such as linking marks to indicate liaison have been used as additional aids in deciphering written forms in French.
Research has not proven that the use of transcription or a regularized writing system produces better readers. Readers exposed to such systems do learn to read as well as those who have learned with traditional spelling, although there is usually a slight regression in skills during the transition from the artificial system to traditional orthography. The use of color cues and other symbols to represent certain pronunciation phenomena that the written forms do not reveal are generally used temporarily to supplement the traditional orthography and do not alter it in any way.
Endeavors to regularize the writing system by modifying the alphabet so that there is a consistent one-to-one sound-symbol correspondence make it clear that the people proposing such systems see writing as merely a reflection of speech sounds. Valdman would have us see writing as a visual representation of the language in its own right and not just a transcription of speech sounds. (p. ^73) The way in which the writing system portrays linguistic units is extremely important to the reader even though they may not always be realized in spoken forms. In view of Valdman1s insights and the warnings of Politzer (i960, p. 70) and Cutts (196^, p. 27)
«• concerning the confusion of having to learn two writing systems iko and in consideration of the disclosures of the research reviewed in the preceding chapters, the following recommendations are proposed concerning the use of transcription and other visual aids in foreign language reading instruction:
1. Traditional orthography should be used from the
very beginning of reading instruction. Students
who have already learned to read English are
accustomed to the phenomenon of poor fit and
can usually be prepared for such problems in
the foreign language with a simple explanation
like the following taken from the A-LM Level One
Teacher's Manual:
Tell the students that there are usually a number of ways a given French sound can be represented. Explain that the same thing is true in English: for example, the sound (iy), as in see, is repre sented in many different ways: see, he leaf, receive, believe, key, machine. The sound (n) is represented by n in the word no_, and kn in the word know. In these same words, the sound (o) is represented by _o and £w. (p. 89)
2. The use of color and other marks to help establish a
sound-symbol correspondence may be used in the
initial presentation of these associations and
in subsequent drill sessions, but all reading texts
should appear in normal orthography and these aids
should be withdrawn as soon as the relationship
between letter and sound is well established. Ikl
3. Written forms should be grouped according to
regular and irregular spelling patterns and
presented in this way to facilitate the reader's
generalizations about the nature of the writing
system. (See recommendations on phonics instruc
tion in this chapter, pages l*f5~1^6.)
The whole sentence approach
The reading of whole sentences from the beginning of reading instruction is used more extensively and more effectively in English than in foreign language instruction. In English whole sentences are used not only as a context for the introduction of new words and elements for phonic analysis, but also to give the students practice with the larger elements of intonation and the syntactical and morphological patterns that can only be observed in sentences or larger word groupings. The whole sentences that foreign language students read are usually contained in memorized groups of sentences or dialogues that they repeat in an exercise called "mass association practice." During this
"reading" the student is given a whole picture of the written representations of the spoken forms he has committed to memory.
Immediately following this overview, certain spelling problems and sound-letter associations are isolated and drilled. English instruction also uses a variety of experience charts to give further practice in reading complete sentences. These sentences are usually dictated by the students who are responding to a Ik2 question, a picture or some other stimulus that the teacher has presented to them. Experience charts are rarely used in foreign language reading instruction, although Finocchiaro does recommend them at the FLES level. (p. 80) Foreign language reading instruction has much to gain from the adoption of whole sentence reading exercises used in English instruction. The following procedures are recommended and examples of exercises are illus trated in Appendix C, pages 235-253-
1. Rather than presenting the students with a written
text of memorized material, the teacher could show
pictures cues that represent the dialogue lines or
basic sentences and ask the students to dictate the
sentences which the teacher then writes on a chart
or on the board. In this way the teacher can get
the corpus of sentences he wants to conduct a
number of whole sentence drills. Of course, the
teacher should reinforce the student's dictation,
but if the student is allowed to dictate what is
written down and then read, it is hoped that the
idea will be strengthened that the written form is
a visual representation of what he can already say.
2. Exercises grouping sentences with similar intonation
patterns and drills contrasting different patterns
should be conducted. Visual cues such as up and
arrows at the end of sentences indicating the type
of terminal pitch can be used. lb3
3. The teacher should use expansion, substitution,
transformation, and completion reading drills to
develop awareness of word order in sentence
patterns.
b. The teacher should prepare whole sentence reading
drills that illustrate certain morphological
patterns.
5. The teacher should use experience charts on which
conversations are recorded, narratives are summarized
and retold and other informative material (assignments,
announcements, etc.) that the students can read is
registered.
Word-Attack Skills
Word recognition by sight
In English reading instruction, pupils are drilled in the recognition of a basic sight vocabulary before the analysis of particular sound-letter relationships is considered. This procedure is deemed beneficial because of the proper reading attitude that the pupil develops by learning to follow whole groups of words first rather than plodding through the letters of separate words and because many of the words learned by sight are key examples of sound-symbol associations that will be established in later phonics instruction. There is little use made of whole word recognition in beginning foreign language reading instruction, although some word recognition Ikk drills are used to practice items that have been previously presented in phonics instruction. These are the recommendations for the use of whole word recognition in foreign language reading:
1. The student should receive practice in recognition
both in and out of context the words containing
the sound-symbol correspondences that are to be
the subject of the first phonics lessons. For
example in preparing for the first seven short
reading lessons that appear in the A-LM Level One
reading-writing-spelling section of the Teacher's
Manual, the teacher would have to build up a sight
vocabulary of over fifty words.
2. The teacher should use a variety of techniques to
develop this sight vocabulary including pictures,
flash cards, and other naming and identifying games
exercises. (For examples of these techniques in
French see Appendix C, pages 253-256.)
3* Although individual words may be drilled out of
context, if extra practice is needed, they should
always be replaced in a fitting context to illus
trate their meanings.
Phonics
It is difficult to appraise phonics instruction in English, since a number of methods are used and have been in and out 1^5 of favor over the years. At the present time, however, the majority of reading authorities would recommend an inductive approach in which the students, through systematic presentation of examples of sound-letter relationships are led to make generalizations about the patterns they observe. This process is gradual and usually functional, i.e. associations are established and drilled as they are needed and as the sight vocabulary containing a certain pattern develops to the point where a generalization becomes possible. In foreign language phonics instruction the process is usually deductive. The teacher establishes the correspondence with a familiar example, and then other familiar words containing the pattern are practiced. There is no generalization. A number of practice drillshave been developed in both English and foreign language reading, but there are many more techniques used in English, many of which are suitable for adoption. These techniques are demonstrated in Appendix C along with an example of a phonics generalization pages 256-263 • The study and comparison of
English and foreign language phonics instruction have resulted in these recommendations:
1. Students should be led to fix sound-symbol corres
pondences inductively. This is accomplished by
grouping a number of sight words containing the
same associations and asking students to generalize
about the sound-letter relationships they observe. Phonics instruction is a gradual process, and
correspondences should be introduced only when
enough examples have been accumulated in the
student's sight vocabulary to permit the formula
tion of a generalization.
The teacher should use a variety of exercises to
establish the sound-symbol relationship including
not only all the techniques available to him in
foreign language instruction, but also certain
substitution, matching, and rhyming drills that
can be borrowed from English phonics instruction.
Although a greater amount of time will probably
have to be spent on vowels in French, all problems
of fit and possible interferences should be syste
matically presented and drilled and not left to
chance because of certain ,:'n e a r equivalents" that
are said to exist.
Regular systematic review should be planned as the
student's knowledge of correspondences increases.
Different graphic representations of the same sound
similar graphic representations of different sounds
and possible interferences within the language
because of poor fit and interferences with mother
tongue orthography need special attention and
constant drilling. This is a blank page. Filmed as received.
University Microfilms lk8
6. Although individual words and word and syllable pairs
will be drilled to fix sound-letter relationships, it
is desirable for these phonic elements to be presented
first in a meaningful context and to be replaced in a
context for continued drilling in complete utterances
after isolating these smaller units for more intensive
practice. Words have differing phonemic shapes
according to the environments in which they appear.
This is particularly true in French with the phenomenon
of sandhi-variation.
Context clues
In English reading instruction context clues are used
from the very beginning to help the pupil unlock the pronunciations of familiar words and the meanings of unknown words. In foreign language instruction the use of context clues is not introduced until later stages when the student is reading new material not
learned previously in an audio-lingual context. Although in the more recent programmed readers, new words are supposedly placed
in contexts that will help to reveal their meanings and repeated
at regular intervals to bring about retention, there is no
systematic treatment of the skills used in deriving meanings and
no guided questioning to assist students in arriving at the
meanings and checking their guesses. In fact, most new words are
actually defined in glosses or end vocabularies. These are Iks the recommendations suggested for the use of context clues in foreign language reading instruction:
1. Students should be given opportunities to derive
meanings from context through carefully planned
guided questions as soon as they are introduced to
the first contrived reading material. This practice
should be begun during the last months of level one
instruction, for it is at this time that such
materials are usually presented. (For an example
of the kind of questions that can be asked see
Appendix C, pages 263-266.)
2. Specific exercises, aside from the regular reading
texts, should be conducted to give the student
practice in identifying the various types of context
clues, including definition, description, synonyms
and antonyms, word association, deduction, experience,
and enumeration. (For examples of these exercises,
see Appendix B, pages 219-222.)
3. To help the student gain the patience and tolerance
for vagueness that is often necessary in working with
context clues, he should be given exercises in which
clues to meaning do not appear in the same sentence,
but come before or after it. He should be given
training in the controls and checks he can use to
substantiate his guesses. Such checks include
repetitions of the word in other contexts, 150
appropriateness of the meaning guessed in the
general meaning of the context, and the use of
common sense. (For exercises in these checking
procedures, see Appendix C, pages 266-267.)
Structural analysis
The usefulness of instruction in structural analysis
in beginning reading has not been definitely determined, although
some systematic drilling of inflections, affixes, compound forms,
and syllabification at later levels of instruction is recommended
by most reading authorities. In foreign language instruction these
items are not even touched before level two and are not treated in
any depth until levels three and four. The relatively small
vocabulary that the foreign language student has acquired in only
one year of instruction is probably one of the main reasons for
the delay in this instruction. However, a number of grammatical
inflections are presented during the first year of instruction,
and although grammatical generalizations are provided and writing
exercises are assigned, there are no systematic reading drills
designed specifically for practice in the rapid recognition of
these forms in reading. Even at more advanced levels when word
families, affixes, and syllabification are discussed, there are
few exercises provided to give the student practice in recognizing
and using these forms. Recommendations for the use of structural
analysis in foreign language reading follow. Oral reading drills designed to develop in the student an awareness of important inflected forms and the ability to recognize them rapidly should be used more generously at beginning levels.
When enough items are available in the student's
Vocabulary to make generalizations about certain word forms, then such observations should be made and students should be given exercises in which they can apply the principles under study. For example, by Unit Thirteen of the A-LM Level One text the following word pairs have been presented: patissier/pattisserie, boulanger/boulangerie, charcutier/charcuterie, cr&mier/crlmerie. It would seem advisable at this time to conduct a generaliza tion about these pairs to help the student to distinguish their forms and their meanings.
Although there is probably little need for the learning of the formal rules of syllabification in writing, some work with syllabification is recommended especially when students begin reading unfamiliar material to help them maintain proper pronunciation. Since there will probably be some inclination on the part of the English speaker to close syllables, some precaution against this interference should be taken because of the general tendency in French pronunciation 152
to have open syllables. Oral reading of words,
phrases, and sentences with a special effort to
keep syllables open can be effective. Contrasting
cognates such as American/amiricain is another
exercise that is recommended.
A-. At more advanced levels when word families, prefixes
suffixes are formally presented, more exercises
should be provided to offer students more oppor
tunity to test their abilities to recognize and
comprehend these forms. (For exercises using
structural analysis, see Appendix C, pages 268-273*)
Reading for Meaning
Literal comprehension
In both English and foreign language reading instruction, a considerable amount of time is spent checking the comprehension of the literal meanings of words, phrases, sentences, and whole reading selections. A variety of techniques has been developed to test this comprehension, although the use of direct questions is the most prevalent practice. In both fields critics have expressed concern over the undue stress placed on this most basic and elementary level of comprehension. The predominant custom of treating the understanding of literal meanings as the first and final step in reading comprehension has led to the insistence upon the retention of trivial details for no apparent reason.
Methods for developing a more purposeful reading at the literal 153 level as a step to higher levels of comprehension are treated in English, but deserve more attention in foreign language instruction. Implementation of the following recommendations should help to improve the accuracy of the student's literal comprehension and develop a purpose for the meanings he has acquired. A list of possible exercises and illustrative material are included in Appendix C, pages 273-283.
1. Sufficient practice in understanding phrase and
whole sentence meanings is as important as under
standing the meanings of separate lexical items.
In the early stages of reading instruction, students
should participate regularly in activities intended
to develop phrase and sentence sense when reading.
2. Students should be given practice in noting significant
details in terms of a stated purpose.
3. In the reading of paragraphs and longer selections,
students should receive instruction in finding the
main ideas. Questions and exercises on details should
be designed to help students discover central thoughts
and understand how these details support and clarify
them.
k,. To develop an accurate literal comprehension of the
broader, more general meanings of a selection, the
student must be made aware of the sequence of events 15b
and the organizational plan of the passage. This
awareness can be developed through the use of
appropriate exercises.
5. With out-of-class reading assignments it is
important to give pointers to the student on ways
of developing retention. The student who uses the
reading material to some designated end is more
likely to retain what he has read. He may be
asked to reread or recite to himself certain portions.
He may be given comprehension exercises to be written
out. He may be asked to outline, summarize, or list
the main points of what he has read. He may be asked
to remember what interests or impresses him the most.
He may be asked to relate the reading to personal
opinions and experiences. He may be given a series
of "before questions" to answer while reading or he
may be asked to search for specific information
contained in the material. Students who are properly
motivated and given a purpose for reading are more
likely to read carefully and retain the material.
Interpretive and critical reading
Authorities in English reading instruction encourage the use of techniques to develop critical and interpretive reading
skills in elementary pupils from the very beginning. These skills 155 need to be presented systematically. It is felt that an early introduction to these processes is desirable because of the tendency in children to develop reading habits in line with the reading purposes set up by the teacher. If too much emphasis is placed on literal meanings, and there is little or no treatment of the material at higher levels of comprehension, students will respond to their reading only in terms of basic primary meanings and will find it difficult to interpret and react critically later on when they may be asked to do this type of reading. It has been shown that young children are capable of critical thinking.
There is no reason, therefore, to delay the development of these
essential skills. A rich methodology in this area has been produced and is finding its way into reading materials and programs
at all levels of the elementary school.
In foreign language reading there is a gross neglect of
these higher levels of comprehension especially at the beginning
levels of language instruction. Because of the limited linguistic resources of the beginning foreign language learner and the number of skills he has to develop simply to grasp the new literal mean
ings in the second language, it is rare that any effort is ever
made to help the student take steps beyond this basic level and
react creatively to the language material. Even at more advanced
levels there is continued insistence upon the acquisition of
literal meaning with little regard for training in the
interpretational skills. Needless to say, because of this primary consideration for the understanding of literal meanings, there is little available to the foreign language teacher in the way of methods and materials to assist him in the task of develop ing interpretive and creative reading skills, especially at elementary and intermediate levels of instruction. Examination of the effective methodology available in English reading training at this level suggests many possibilities for the development of these skills in foreign language teaching. (For exercises illustrating the use of these techniques, see Appendix C, pages 284-299 .) Recognition of the disregard for this important area of comprehension in foreign language reading and an acknow ledgment of successful procedures used in English instruction at all levels of instruction have led to these recommendations:
1. Beginning in the audio-lingual stage, the student
should be introduced to the use of "controlled"
creative thinking by being asked to make inferences
and react personally, within the range of his linguistic
competence, to the content of the material being
learned.
2. Beginning with the simplest contrived narratives,
the student should be led, through appropriate
questioning and oral and written exercises, to
see implied relationships, to determine inferred
meanings, and to develop critical reactions to the
ideas contained in the reading material. It is both possible and necessary to conduct such activities with the most elementary readings as well as with more advanced literary selections.
Questions and exercises requesting interpretation or critical reaction need to be carefully constructed and prepared for. Planning such activities well in advance, anticipating probable student responses, and giving students sufficient practice ahead of time in the structures and vocabulary they will most probably need to formulate answers are necessary steps to take if the experience is to be a successful one for the students. (See Appendix C for an example of these steps in planning, pages 28*1— 285.)
Activities fostering creative reading skills should be a part of the beginning reading program at whatever level it is begun, whether it be in elementary school, junior high school, or high school. Children entering elementary school are capable of thinking critically.
Although it is generally thought that there is a positive relationship between intelligence and critical thinking, research has been inconclusive, showing a correlation of only .50 or below in most studies. (See Chapter II, page 75*) Therefore, these activities should not be reserved for older and more intelligent students, but should be an integral part of all foreign language students' reading
experience at all levels.
5* As the student progresses to advanced levels in
his language training, and his competency in
reading and the interpretive skills improves,
there should be an increase in the amount of time
spent on interpretive and critical reading and a
reduction in the amount of time given to the
checking of literal comprehension. Exercises
dealing with literal comprehension should be
conducted solely for the purpose of leading
students to a higher level of comprehension.
Oral and Silent Reading
The importance of both oral and silent reading is recognized in English reading instruction. Training in both types of reading is given from the beginning of instruction.
Since most of the student's future reading will be silent, he receives training, through planned purposeful activities in class, to help him improve his reading speed, repress lip and head movements, and reduce gradually his dependence on inner speech. Oral reading is used not only to check pronunciation and word recognition, but also to check comprehension, to develop proper phrasing and appropriate vocal inflection and expression in the oral interpretation of the reading material. 159
In foreign language instruction, oral reading is used primarily to check comprehension and pronunciation, while the development of skills in silent reading is a task which is left up to the individual student who does most of this kind of reading out of class. The following recommendations are suggested for the improvement of instruction in oral and silent reading:
1. Oral reading and pronunciation practice should be
distinguished. Oral reading practice should include
exercises on phrasing, the communication of feelings,
emotions, and moods through the proper manipulation
of vocal expressions and emphatic forms, and oppor
tunities for dramatization. (For examples of exercises
that can be used to provide this kind of practice,
see Appendix C, page§ 235-253*)
2. Short silent reading exercises, some of which may
be timed, should be a regular class activity. Such
activities need to be purposeful and well motivated.
Practice in the oral reading of phrases and whole
thought groups and discussion and questions
concerning the content of the passage to be read
are suitable ways of preparing students for silent
reading exercises. Students may be asked to look
for specific information, note organization and
sequence, or formulate a personal reaction while
reading. The reading passages should be recombined 160
material that is read by sight, rather than
selections that have been previously memorized.
(For examples of sample exercises on silent
reading, see Appendix C, pages 2k5-2k6.)
A Summary of Recommendations
The following general recommendations are enumerated here to give the reader a better perspective of the nature of the foreign language reading program that is proposed in this chapter:
1. An extended audio-lingual period is recommended
before reading instruction is begun. The length of
this period is determined by the following linguistic
needs of the beginning reader: 1) a fluent pronuncia
tion of all the beginning reading material, 2) a
vocabulary that is large enough to permit the
acquisition of a sight vocabulary containing
sufficient examples of the first sound-symbol
relationships to be established, and J>) enough
variety in structure to permit the composition of
interesting recombined materials.
2. The first reading activities are the whole sentence
reading of memorized materials. This whole sentence
reading is immediately extended to include the oral
reading or recombined sentences grouped and contrasted
to develop in the student an awareness of intonation patterns, word order, and word-form changes.
These activities are conducted before any sound-symbol analysis occurs.
Whole words are pointed out in context, isolated, drilled individually, and returned to appropriate contexts to develop in the student the rapid recognition by sight of whole word forms.
Whole words containing a certain sound-letter relationship are presented in context and then isolated and grouped together. The association of sound and symbol is made inductively through generalization. Considerable practice is provided in and out of context to fix the correspondence.
Practice in the use of context clues is begun as soon as new words are presented for the first time in contrived reading material. Regular, systematic practice through guided questions and exercises is necessary.
The use of structural analysis at beginning levels is mainly restricted to reading drills designed to develop rapid recognition of inflected forms. There should be more systematic presentation and drilling of word families and derivational affixes at intermediate and advanced levels. 162
7. Activities in checking literal meanings should be
purposeful and always lead to higher levels of
comprehension.
8. Training in interpretive and critical reading
should begin with the first reading experiences
and continue to play an increasingly important
role in the program as the reader progresses.
9. Carefully planned activities in the use of oral
and silent reading should be conducted regularly
to develop competence in both kinds of reading.
Conclusion
The field of reading instruction in English has a well developed, effective methodology which has a great deal to offer to the teaching of reading in foreign languages. It has been the purpose of this study to illuminate that methodology and its underdeveloped counterpart in foreign language instruction in order to generate recommendations for the development of an effective reading program in foreign language teaching and to produce a sample methodology for the immediate use of teachers.
The recommendations in this chapter are based on the opinions of the most prominent reading authorities in the field, the findings of the research (which is admittedly not too reliable in English and practically nonexistent in foreign language reading instruc tion), and the teaching experiences of the author. The sample methods that are developed in the appendixes were compiled from 163 respected texts on methodology, widely used and tested classroom text book materials, and a large reserve of techniques tried and tested by the author with his own classes.
The recommendations and methods suggested in this study are not to be considered the final word on reading instruction in foreign languages. The author has treated a serious problem in need of immediate attention in the most practical way. He has proposed an empirical remedy. Of course, research will be required to prove the final value of many of these recommendations and methods, but instructional needs and changes cannot always await the results of extensive research before they are implemented, especially when there is a serious lack of instructional procedures.
Decades of research in English reading have not proved the absolute superiority of any method over all others, but these decades of testing and trying have witnessed the creation of a remarkable variety of classroom techniques. The elementary read ing teacher's dilemma is mainly one of choice - of all the methods and materials available, the teacher's problem is to determine which ones he should use. Although reading specialists do make certain prescriptions, they generally agree that the teacher should choose liberally from all of the resources at his disposal and make his approach an eclectic one. The foreign language teacher faced with the task of presenting reading has never been in this dilemma. His predicament has been just the reverse of this situation. It is hoped that with the creation of Appendix C in this dissertation, the foreign language teacher will begin to know and enjoy the same abundance of techniques in his reading instruction, that his task will be made easier because of this, and that the final result will be a more proficient foreign language reader. APPENDIX A CLASSKOOM TECHNIQUES IN ENGLISH READING INSTRUCTION
Breaking the Code
Words in Color
Dr. Caleb Gattegno has included in his method a number of transformation activities with words which he feels "provide learners with a very different attitude toward the dynamic qualities of words than do any of the conventional reading methods." (p. ^+8) The teacher starts with a given word. He indicates the type of transformation by drawing an arrow after the word and a letter above the arrow signifying the change wanted. The four transformations are illustrated below and the steps of transforming pat — > steps are given as examples of how these transformations may be combined:
1. Substitution - The pupils may substitute one, but
only one, sign for another in a given sequence of
signs. (For example, pat --■» pot or pat sat)
2. Reversing - A word may be read either from right to
left, or from left to right. (top — * pot)
3. Addition - One letter may be placed in front of a
word or at the end of a word. (For example,
top stop, stop stops)
166 k. Insertion - A new letter may be placed between two
V j_ others in a word, (pot — ^ plot)
r gg ^ g 5. Combination - p a t ------) steps r s 3. pat — tap — ^ top — •> tops
a
stop stops
s £
step steps
Structural Reading
The whole sentence approach as defined by LeTevre require practice in the following sentence components and in this order: intonation patterns, word order, structure words, and word-form changes. Here are some activities suggested to develop awareness of these constructions:
1. Intonation patterns - The purpose of these exercises,
according to McKee is to develop in the student an
awareness of the following:
(1) that in his talking he emphasizes some words more than others, uses different pitches at different points and makes stops to help others understand what he means and that his reading matter stands for talk which is already familiar to him and which includes emphases, pitches, and stops as well as the names of words. (2) that in order to understand what the printed lines of his reading matter are saying, he must think the voice intonations which his experience in talking and listening leads him to believe he would hear if he heard the lines being spoken. (p. 179)
a. Oral reading drills - The basic procedure for
conducting oral reading drills is through imitation of the model set by the teacher and repetition of that model until manipulative control of voice intonations is achieved. The students follow the written text in front of them. Preferably, the sentences to be practiced are ones that have been drilled orally beforehand. (Scott, 1966, p. 5^3)
1) Contrastive exercises comparing the declarative
type sentence with a falling-pitch terminal with
its transformed "yes-no" question equivalent
with a rising-pitch terminal should be conducted
by having written sentences with visual cues
indicating the changes read. The visual cues
should point out the inversion of nouns and
verb forms in the interrogative form and the
change intonation. Lefevre suggests that the
intonation differences can be illustrated by
using up and down arrows at the end of each
sentence. (p. 97)
John is going with us. ( I )
Is John going with us? ( j )
2) To indicate that most sentence types take the
falling-pitch terminal, the teacher writes on the
board a simple statement, a request or a command,
a question which does not take a rising-pitch
terminal at the end, and a sentence containing commas used to separate a series of items or
separate structures. The sentences are taken
one at a time and the pupils are asked to
listen as they are read aloud to hear whether
the voice goes up or down as the last word is
pronounced. The student's response is indicated
by placing a down arrow at the end of each
sentence. The pupils then read the sentences
after the teacher. In the sentence with the
commas, practice is given both with the
rising-internal pitch and the falling-terminal
pitch.
3) Students are asked to read orally stressing
different words in the sentence. Or questions
are asked by the teacher to elicit a response
with the stress on a particular word.
The student reads: Tom has two brothers.
The teacher asks: Tom has two mothers?
The student rereads with more stress on
the final word: Tom has two brothers?
Silent reading drills - Students are asked to read sentences silently marking the terminal pitch with up and down arrows. Students follow silently as the teacher reads aloud; they are instructed to underline words stressed, rising internal pitches and the terminal pitches. 170
2. Structure words and word order in sentence patterns -
McKee again delineates the awareness of sentence
patterns and words used as markers which the pupil
needs to develop to help him in his reading task: an awareness that (a) in the sentences in his reading matter the order of the words and groups of words is the same as that which he uses in speaking such sent ences, (b) to read well he must often think together rather than one by one the words which make up a group of words, just as he thinks that group in his talking and listening, and (c) certain words are often used to tell him that here is beginning a group of words which he needs to think together rather than one by one. (p. 185)
a. Word order in sentence patterns - Certain expansion,
substitution, and transformation reading drills can
be used to develop this awareness:
1) Scrambled sentences - The teacher writes jumbled
sentences on cards or on the board. The students
have to reassemble the, sentences. Previous oral
practice on these same sentences is recommended
2) Expanded sentences - Have the words of a simple
phrase printed on cards. Show a card with
another word that is to fit into the phrase.
Have a student take the card, put it in the
appropriate order and then read the phrase.
This may continue until an entire sentence is
built. Example:
Teacher: (Showing the phrase the dog)
Who will read this phrase? 171
Student: the dog.
Teacher: (Showing the word big on another
card) Put this word with the others and
reread the phrase.
Student: the big dog.
Teacher: (Showing the words plays, Jane,
and with on cards) Who can make a sentence
by adding these three words in the right
order?
Student: (Placing the words in order and
reading) Jane plays with the big dog.
Teacher: (Showing the phrase in the yard
on cards) Let's make the sentence a little
longer by adding these words.
Student: Jane plays with the big dog in
the yard.
3) Substitution reading drills - Have the words of a
sentence written on cards. Practice reading the
sentence orally. Show a new word on a card that
could replace one of the words in the sentence.
Have the students read the word and then let
someone put it over the word that it is to
replace and read the new sentence.
The small house belongs to Mr. Black. 172
(The teacher shows the word white. The
student takes the card and places it over
the word small. He rereads the sentence.)
The white house belongs to Mr. Black. etc.
^•) To develop an awareness of the relationships and
order of word groups in various sentence types,
this exercise is useful: Printed words on cards
are placed in colored pockets, the same color
being used to identify the kind of word group
and its function. For example, words forming a
noun group used as a subject would always be
placed in a blue pocket, verb groups in green
pockets, adjectives following linking verbs in
yellow pockets, etc. After drilling with the
various sentence types and placing the words in
the appropriate pockets, the teacher shows a
card containing an adjective and asks the color
of the pocket in which it should be placed. In
this way the students are reading word groups and
learning their functions incidentally. Example:
John hits the ball. The apple is big, /blue/ green/ red / /blue /green/yellow/
When the teacher shows the card with the word
round on it, the students should tell him to put
it in the yellow pocket. The student then reads
the sentence. Thinking in word groups and identifying structure words - There are a number of activities to develop this awareness:
1) Have a list of sentences with identical structure
printed on the board. Let wider spaces separate
the word groups. First read the columns hori
zontally. Then indicate different word groups
in each column that can be combined to make
other sentences. Example:
Tom found the wagon in the park. The girl lost the money at the lake. Susan had a picnic under the tree. The man saw the car in the garage.
The students may be asked to add as many groups
to the above columns as they can.
2) Ask Who? Where? and What? questions on the above
sentences. Tell the students to answer with the
appropriate word group.
Teacher:. Who lost the money at the lake?
Student: The girl.
Teacher: Where did the man see the car?
Student: In the garage. etc.
3) Word pyramids - Make word pyramids by beginning
with a noun at the top. Let the students choose
appropriate words to fill in the other blocks.
/tree/____ /green / tree/ /tall/ green / tree/ *0 Completing sentences - Print on the board in
a row and with space between them only the
markers of a short sentence. The sentence will
be written in this way: The______
a ______to the . Ask the pupil to
give words that fit in the blanks to say something
which makes sense. With the above sentence, the
student could produce The boy took ja friend to
the party or The girl gave _a book to the teacheri
etc.
5) Identifying relationships - Exercises like the
following may be used: In each of the following,
the underlined word is used in place of the name
of a person or thing mentioned in the same sentence.
Read the sentence and identify who or what the
underlined word is:
When the birds were freed, they flew up into the trees.
As soon as he_ arrived home from school, John went to deliver his papers.
6) Inversions - Place the words of a sentence on
cards. Also let the terminal punctuation be
represented on a card. Let the students form
yes-no questions by inverting the first two word
cards and using the appropriate terminal 175
puncuation. Adverbs and adverbial phrases can
be changed from the end to the beginning of
sentences with the use of word cards also.
c. Word-form changes - Most of the techniques dealing
with endings and inflected forms are treated under
the section on structural analysis. (See page 189
in this Appendix) So far as McKee is concerned,
very little attention needs to be given to this area
in beginning instruction. He says,
. . . the fact that words take different forms in the pupil's reading matter has little significance in the teaching of beginning reading. The pupil already uses in his talking and interprets correctly in his listen ing all the word forms that he will encounter in his reading matter - thus he will have no trouble in think ing for a given printed form of a word the correct corresponding spoken form. (p. 189 )
Here are a few techniques for working with endings
suggested by Russell and Karp (1967, pp. ^9~50) that
are compatible with whole sentence approaches:
1) The student is given a mimeographed sheet con
taining several sentences from each of which a
word has been omitted. At the front of the
room are placed an assortment of words on cards.
Each word is represented in several forms,
singular and plural for nouns, comparative and
superlative for adjectives and adverbs, and the
various tense and number forms for the verbs. 176
The student finds the correct word for each
blank and reads the sentence. For example, some
of the words appearing on cards are: pretty,
talk, prettier, plays, prettiest, talked, play
ing, and talks.
Possible sentences are:
My doll is ______than Peggy's. My doll ca n ______. The dog ______with the ball. etc.
2) Prepare a paragraph and ask the students to read
it supplying the endings:
Dick and Tom were play . They play ______near the barn. Tom saw two baby rabbit _____. Tom call ______to Dick. etc. (pp. ^9-505
Experience Charts
Lee and Allen (pp. k8-^8) describe activities with the following kinds of charts that can be effective aids in beginning reading:
1. Personal language charts - On the board or on newsprint,
the teacher records the reactions of students to her
questions, her comments, or to other stimuli such as
pictures, objects, stories read, etc. The teacher
writes down what the student dictates, asks the student
to read what he h a s just said, and then asks other
students to read it. 2. Work charts - These charts are used to give organization
and guidance to classroom activities. They may be
developed with student dictation again or through
picture clues. They are used specifically for planning
as well as summarizing classroom experiences such as
homework assignments, class projects, summaries of what
the class has just learned, or descriptions of what the
class is about to begin studying.
3- Narrative charts - These are dictated by the students
and reread by them. The content is developed by
retelling stories read or recent experiences of the
class.
k. Reading skill charts - These charts are developed in
class for the teaching and practice of some specific
reading skills including: (1) sounding out words as
they are said and written down, (2) developing awareness
of sentence structure, (3) emphasizing word structure
when adding endings, (^) using context clues to
recognize a word that looks like another word, and
(5) accumulating words specifically related to a
particular unit or topic of study.
Word-Attack Skills
Word recognition by sight
It is generally recommended that individual words be
introduced and practiced in context and in complete sentences. 178
However, for extra practice individual words may be given special drill if they are to be put in context or to be read in context soon after this work. Some of the following exercises isolate the words and some of them keep them in context:
1. Introducing the word - There are two principal ways of
introducing words in reading: (l) The word is portrayed
in a picture, if this is possible and the students are
asked to make sentences about the picture. The sentence
containing the word is written on the board and the word
is underlined or circled. Students practice reading the
word by using it in other sentences which the teacher
writes on the board. (2) The word is presented in a
context that will evoke its use. The teacher writes a
sentence on the board which omits the word to be presented.
The context is so obvious as to make clear the missing
word when the teacher reads. The students supply the
word and read the sentence. Example: The leaves are
falling from the tall oak (tree). Attention is directed
to this word by underlining also. It is practiced in
other contexts.
2. Recognizing words in and out of context - There are a
number of techniques to help the student learn to
recognize instantly words by sight:
a. Naming and pointing to words - The teacher prints
individual words on the board. Then he asks the pupils to name words to which he points and to point to words which he names.
Selecting words named - A sheet of paper on which numbered rows of words or phrases are printed is given to the pupil. The teacher asks him to under line the one word or phrase he names in each row.
Preferably each row should contain only words that look somewhat alike.
Flash cards - Words and phrases are placed on cards and drilled for rapid sight recognition. Competitive games can be played with these cards.
Wheel of chance - A large cardboard clock face is numbered from one to twelve (or more) and fitted with a large movable hand. Alongside the clockface the same number of words or phrases are printed either on the blackboard or on a chart, or mimeographed.
A student is called upon to flick the hand and is required to read the phrase or word which corresponds to the number where the hand stops.
Erase _a word - The class is divided into two teams.
The teacher writes on the board or mimeographs on sheets two lines of words, phrases, or sentences of equal difficulty, as many items as there are students.
As the various members read the items, these items are erased or crossed out if they are pronounced
and read correctly. The team that correctly
finishes its list first is the winner. f. Card drawing - This game is possible only with
small groups or in small classes. Cards with words
or phrases printed on them are placed face down on
the table. Members of the class take turns drawing
cards and reading the printed items. If it is
misread, a card is returned to the bottom of the
pile. The winner is the person with the largest
number of cards when the stack is gone. g. Bingo - This is another popular game which can be
used to drill words for rapid sight recognition.
Words are used instead of numbers. h. The guessing game - Sentences containing sight
words needing practice are put on tag-board. The
words are cut apart and put in pocket charts. A
student goes out of the room while others pick out
a word he is to guess. When the student returns,
he pulls up the word cards and pronounces them as
he guesses. i. The Simon says game - The teacher reads a word,
phrase, or sentence. If the reading corresponds
to the word or words shown, the students reread l8l
what they see. If the reading does not correspond
to the words, the students remain silent,
j. Associations - Words categorized or associated with
other words are more easily remembered. Making
charts of words in categories such as color, size,
taste, smell, etc., helps students to recall their
sight vocabulary. These lists are added to as other
words in these categories are learned.
Phonics
Phonics instruction in English is usually begun with initial consonant sounds, and the short vowel sounds are presented before the long ones. Other problems are dealt with as they are encoun tered in the reading in no prescribed order.
1. Consonant sounds, initial and end - The initial sounds
are often introduced by showing pictures of objects with
names beginning with the sound the letter stands for.
Additional practice with initial consonants is provided
with these activities:
a. Choose from among several consonant letters or groups
of letters the one that stands for the sound with
which the name of a supplied pictures begins.
b. Choose from a group of familiar printed words
those beginning with the same sound as the name
of the supplied picture. 3.82 c. Choose from among consonant letters or groups
of letters the one that stands for the sound
with which two or more words spoken by the
teacher begin. d. Think of and speak words which begin with the
sound that a supplied printed letter or group of
letters stands for. e. Print a familiar word beginning with a consonant
on the board. Have students substitute other
consonants for which the letter-sound associations
have been presented at the beginning of the word to
make new words familiar to the students in spoken
form. f. Complete sentences with at least one word which
begins with a selected consonant: See my b______.
Look at the d______. etc. g. Supply the missing letters in the incomplete
sentences:
The robin has a ___ est. Playing ball is ____ un. etc. h. Write on the board a group of consonants. Read
words one at a time and have the student point to
the consonant with which it begins. i. Select a new word in a multiple choice situation:
)top
Mary saw the robin )hop 183
j. Read words on a phonic wheel. Two circles, one
smaller than the other, are fastened together
through their centers in order to rotate freely.
Initial consonants are printed on the large circle,
and phonograms are placed around the edge of the
smaller circle, so that different words can be
formed by rotating the larger circle.
The above activities can be used with initial consonant blends also. The following activities provide practice in end consonant sounds:
a. Most of the above activities in reverse will work
for end consonants.
b. Have pupils provide from context missing words that
end alikd: n. Mother baked tke cake in an _____ ■
The farmer kept his pig in a ______.
c. Underline the word in each sentence that ends with
the same sound as the word given:
let She likes her new hat. _if He fell off the horse.
d. Change words by adding a consonant at the end or the
beginning: car - cart, ban - band, star - starch,
am - h.am, it - sit.
Other consonant problems:
a. Silent consonants - Strike out marks over the silent
letters can be used when drilling these words to
help students understand that the letters are not
pronounced. b. Digraphs and blends - The same techniques used
with initial and end consonants may be used with
these letter combinations.
Vowel sounds - The teaching of vowel sounds is considered the most difficult part of phonics instruction in English because of the great variability in sound that a single letter or combinations with that letter may have in different words. a. After several short vowel sounds have been introduced
and drilled, substitution exercises can be conducted
in which one word is changed to another by changing
the vowel. Examples: rug - rag, but - bet, bat -
bit. b. Substitutions of vowels and consonants can be
effective at this level. Have the students carry
out directions to make new words, which they
pronounce and then use in sentences:
Given the word cat Change the _c to a la: bat -
He threw his bat down.
Change the _a to an _e: bet - We lost the bet.
Change the _b to a g: get - I'll get it for you.
c. Vowels omitted in words used in context may be
filled in and the sentences read: Sylvia has a
new h t. It is r d. Activities using rhyming words are useful during vowel instruction:
1) Underline the words that go with let: bet, hat,
set, cat, pet.
Fill in the circle under the words that go with
name:
same, come, some, game, tame, o o o o o
The teacher puts a list of words on the board,
such as rose, jump, run. The words are pronounced
and then the class is asked to supply other words
that end in the same sound. These words are added
to the list.
2) Underline the word in each sentence that rhymes
with the word given: he Come to me. old It
is a cold day.
3) Look at the first word and pronounce it. Draw
a line under one of the next three words that
has the same vowel sound:
big bit, pie, pile. can came, cap, cage. k ) Underline the words that have the same vowel
sound as in the word represented by the picture:
black make
tame 186
e. Editing sentences is an activity suggested for use
in distinguishing long and short vowels. Pupils
cross out the wrong word:
hat at John has a new . Kitty the ice cream, hate ate
3. Teaching ik generalization in phonics - It is agreed by
authorities that an inductive approach to phonics in
which the students are led to see the sound-symbol
relationships themselves is best. The following is a
generalization taken from Phonics in Proper Perspective
by Arthur Heilman (196^) :
1. Place on the board a column of words which have a single vowel in medial position. Choose words to which a final _e may be added to form a new word and illustrate this general ization. 2. Pupils pronounce words in column A. 3. Add final e_ to each word (as in column B). k. Pupils pronounce words in column B and listen to vowel sound heard. 5 . r Ask children for generalization (the final e_ is silent but when it is added to the end of the word, the /a^ sound in column A changes to a long /e/ sound in column B).
A B C
hat hate h a t
past paste P a s t /
rat rate r a t 4
plan plane P 1 at-. n ^ (p. 6 3 )
Context clues
1. Introducing the concept of context and illustrating how
it can be used to clarify a word can be done with these
exercises 187 a. Pupils can be asked to supply words that might fit
in a blank in an incomplete sentence to help them
to understand that only a certain kind of word
carrying a certain general meaning can fill the
blank: Ask what words could fill this blank:
Dick ______home after school. (went, ran skipped,
came, etc.)
Ask what all of these words tell and what they have
in common. b. Developing the idea of context restriction can be
handled in these exercises:
1) Provide a lexicon above a number of sentences
with one word blanks. The context of these
sentences indicates clearly which word is to
fill the blank:
Mary went boat
1. Jerry wanted a 2. Tom ______hihome. 3. Mother gave __ a new doll.
2) Matching the beginnings and the endings of
sentences can also be used to develop the
ability to anticipate meaning in context:
Tom saw a doll, Mary wanted ran away, The dog a boat.
3) Multiple choice endings: Birds can fly in
the (book,sky,table) Practice in guessing words from context by using
contrast, synonyms, restatements, enumerations, and
associations is provided in these activities:
a. Present a list of verbs denoting action or motion.
The pupils are asked to fit into each of the
sentences the kind of motion they would expect
in that particular sentence.
b. The teacher writes a series of sentences uing
word pairs. The second word of each pair is
omitted from the sentences. At the right of the
sentences are the omitted words listed in a column
in mixed order. The student places before each of
these words the number of the sentence to which it
belongs.
1. Mary wore black shoes and . pencil 2. I sew with needle and ______. ___ wagon thread socks
c. Students are asked to guess the meanings of the
underlined words and then tell how the rest of
the sentence or paragraph helped them to determine
the meaning:
1. It is true that Jerry was inquisitive, but he never asked a question without a good reason. 2. The weak mother dog raised her head lethar gically while her frisky puppies played energetically about her. 3. She had collected many objecte d*art during her travels. There were figurines, vases, and statuettes all over the house. 189
Structural analysis of words
1. Inflectional endings - The following exercises are
frequently suggested to help the student focus on
important inflectional dndings:
a. Russell and Karp (1967) explain this effective device:
Using a circular piece of oak tag, the teacher prints words (nouns, adjectives, or verbs) around its circum ference. At the center she affixes five long strips of oak tag, each shaped like the large hand of a clock. Each of these hands bears an ending. The teacher points to a word and asks the child to select one of the end ings on the pointers (or hands) which can be added to the word and make a good word. With this device, the teacher gives a sentence to the child, using one of the words on the chart, but not in its proper form. The child must select the ending for the word which will make it correct. (p. ^8)
Example:
The teacher says, "The little boy ______(pointing to the word "walk" on the chart) to the house." The child will select either £ or _ed from the five pointers.
b. Have students compare pairs of words telling how
they are different and how their meanings are
changed. Ask them to use them in sentences:
toy Harold goes play toys Harold's go played
2. Affixes - Suffixes and prefixes and their meanings can
be drilled in these exercises:
a. Make a list of words taken from a selection previously
read. Make antonyms by adding or subtracting prefixes:
able - unable improbable - probable responsible - irresponsible Add the appropriate suffixes or prefixes to make the word give the definition listed:
happy ___ happy not happy successful successful not successful art art one who practices art organ organ one who plays an organ
Give the meanings of affixes. Then give the defini tion of a desired word. The students provide the word and use it in a sentence.
un - not a wrong deed ______trans - across not able ______mis - wrong across the continent______
A list of affixes is given and then a list of words that are to be changed. A group of sentences provides the context for the changed words.
un,mis, trans, out, over, under
fed wit formed laid current understand
The horse was very thin. It was because he had been
•
Rereading sentences - Pupils are given a number of sentences containing words with prefixes or suffixes.
They are instructed to identify the word with a prefix and reread each sentence with a new word or phrase to give the same idea:
Mary returned my book. (Mary brought back my book.)
This may also work in reverse:
Bob was proud to ride his new bicycle.
(Bob proudly rode his new bicycle.) 191
f. This is an affix game suggested by DeBoer:
Each pupil is given a card with a prefix or suffix, while the teacher has a series of cards containing root words to many of which a prefix or suffix on a pupil's card could be added. As the teacher holds up a card, all pupils who have a card with a prefix or suffix that can be combined with the root word stand, recite the word and use it in a sentence. (p. 120)
Reading for Meaning
Literal Comprehension
The first task of the reader is to develop understanding of. specific meanings of words in context, and then grasp the mean ing of units of increasing size such as phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and the whole selection. Since developing word meanings in context has already been treated, developing meaningful reading of phrases will be considered first here.
1. Phrase reading - The following activities are intended
to develop a phrase sense when reading:
a. Matching phrases and pictures: under the table,
beside the lake, etc. These phrases should then be
put in sentences.
b. Russell and Karp describe this effective technique:
The students are given several phrase cards based on a story which they have read. The teacher writes on the board a question which can be answered by one of the phrase cards. The student who thinks he has the phrase to answer the question correctly raises his hand. He reads the question from the board and tlfe answer from his card. The teacher writes the answer on the board, and then writes another question which is answered as before, (p. 5 2 ) Another similar technique is to place phrases
from a narrative read in class along the
blackboard ledge. The student may be asked to
find the answers to a question, as, "Where are
the boys going?"
Activities c_ through ji are taken from Tinker and
McCullough's (1962) Teaching Elementary Reading.
(pp. 176-177)
c. Multiple choice exercises in which phrases are
used as answers are effective. The student is
to draw a line under the correct phrase to
complete the sentence:
The bird flew (a) up the ladder, (b) over the
trees, (c) under the water.
d. Ask students to locate quickly phrases on a desig
nated page to answer specific questions.
On page ___ find the phrase that answers the question (1) What did Jane see? (2) Where was the accident?
e. Tell students to mark off what they think are the
thought units in several sentences and then tell
what questions could be asked about each phrase
(Who, Where, etc.).
The tall man/ walked quickly/ along the street, etc. f. Tell students to turn to certain pages that they
have read to find certain phrases that you dictate
and then to tell what they mean. Phrases such as:
black as coal, heavy as lead, etc. g. Instruct the students to find a phrase on a certain
page or in a paragraph that makes them:
See something (red roses) Taste something (a sweet orange) Hear something (a train whistle) h. The use of flash cards with phrases printed on them
will help students to grasp a thought unit at a
glance. The phrases on successive cards should
form a sentence, as:
The gray squirrel sat up with the nut in his paws. i. Sentences may be separated into thought units on
mimeographed sheets to be read by the students:
He came running with a ball in his hand.
Sentence comprehension - Many of the above activities can also be used with whole sentences. Some other exercises are described below: a. The pupil is given a group of sentences accompanied
by a picture. Only one or some of the sentences
tell about the picture. The pupil is expected to
mark or read the particular sentences which do. 19k
A variation of this is to match a group of
pictures with a group of sentences. b. The teacher places on the chalk rail individual
word cards with which sentences can be built.
Then the student is asked to choose the right
cards to make the short sentences the teacher
speaks. As the student chooses the cards, they
are placed in correct order in a pocket chart.
Then the pupil is asked to read the sentence. c. The student is to rearrange the words in jumbled
sentences and then tell whether the sentence is
true or false:
T F 1. for gasoline use fuel autos. ______. d. Variations on the Who, When, Where, Ho w , What
exercises:
1) Students read each sentence and then decide
whether the underlined part tells when, why,
how, what, or where. They draw a line under the
one correct word which follows the sentence:
1. The small house belongs to Mr. Black, when why h©w what where 2. Since Ann was ill, we remained at home, when why how what
2) After the student is told that the sentence he
is to read answer the questions who and where,
he is asked to write below the sentences the
word or words that answer the questions. 195
1. The girl went to the table to get the book.
Sentence no. Words that tell who where 1. ______
Similar items may be constructed that answer the
questions when and what, or why and how.
3) Students are to write the words when, why, where,
or how after certain sentences to match the
predominant idea expressed:
1. He sat down close by the ocean. (where) 2. Because he was afraid, he punched back wildly, (why)
e. The students list the sentences in a selection that
help prove a given point.
f. Students indicate from a group of sentences the one
that means almost the same thing as a specified
sentence.
g. In connection with a long sentence that presents
comprehension difficulties, students make a
sentence for every idea contained in it.
To grasp the meaning of the larger units of paragraphs, chapters, and the whole reading selection in general, students need practice finding and understanding the main ideas, noting the significant details, relating supporting details to central thoughts, following a sequence of related events, and retaining the essential literal content. 196
1. Reading for the main idea - DeBoer and Dallman (196*0
provide this list of possible exercises which may be
used to bring out the main ideas:
1. Selecting from a list of sentences one that best expresses the main idea of a paragraph. 2. Selecting the best title from a list. 3. Naming a title to fit a given paragraph or longer selection. k. Following directions such as a. Find the sentence that gives the main idea of the article. b. Draw a line under the words in the second paragraph that give the topic of that paragraph. c. Draw a line under the words that best describe the character discussed in the selection. 5. Noting certain phrases such as the first and the most important to see if they point out a main idea. (pp. I*t6-l*f7)
Other ways of elicting the main ideas from the reading
are:
a. The paragraphs or sentences in an article or story
are numbered. Students are directed to search for
certain main points. They are to indicate the answer
and the number of the paragraph or sentence where
they found it. Number Answer
what Bill and Bee found ______how the child cared for the pet ______
b. The students are given a recombined paragraph of
narrative based on a story they have just read.
They are instructed to provide the key words which
are missing. Noting the significant details - By doing these activi ties students will receive practice in detecting details and noting the most significant ones: a. Indicating which of a series of ideas listed are
brought out in a given selection. b. Completing sentences, copied by the teacher from a
reading selection, in which blanks are left for words
that test the comprehension of details. c. Showing which word in a series of sentences or
paragraphs does not belong in a paragraph. d. Deciding which details are important to remember in
terms of a stated purpose. e. Indicating which details belong and which do not
belong in an outline that has been made on a
selection.
f. Doing editorial work on materials that have to be
shortened to include only the essential details. g. Deciding whether the facts given in a passage or
article include sufficient details to justify a
given title. h. Writing a sentence reproducing a fact which is
requested in certain directions: "Write a sentence
telling how far the talking drums could be heard."
i. Telling which in a series of questions are answered
in the test and which are not. Relating supporting details to central thoughts -
Relating details to main ideas can be achieved through
the following exercises: a. Matching a series of details with a list of main
ideas. b. Showing through outlining the relationship between
details and a main point.
c. Discussing whether the author relates details
through his own comments, by the characters'
actions, or by reports by characters as to what
happened.
d. Listing events, persons, objects, descriptions,
places under appropriate categories.
e. Citing cause and effect relations that are literally
present in the text. Students can be asked to state
the causes or effects of characters' actions in a
story:
Tell either why the characters acted this way or what happened after they did these things:
1. Perry fell out of the boat. 2. Jack dropped the cage accidentally.
f. Listing of descriptive words that tell about an
object or action words that tell what a person does
or object words which show what the character
operates on or possesses. 199
g. Finding all the sentences in the text that will
help answer a certain question covering a main
point.
h. Noting certain relational words and their meanings
such as but, therefore, and consequently. k. Following the sequence and organization of the reading -
Seeing the organization of the material read is important
in overall comprehension. These activities will help
students gain this kind of comprehension:
a. Arranging pictures in the order in which events
pictured by them occurred in a story.
b. Noting word clues such as first, second, then, next,
or after sometime.
c. Arranging in correct order paragraphs dealing with
one topic given in mixed-up order.
d. Identifying such elements as the introduction,
build-up, climax, and ending of a story as the
reading progresses.
e. Identifying and relating episodic and parallel plot
structures to the main story line.
5* Retaining what is read - Hester recommends applying the
following principles for remembering what is read:
1. Always read with a purpose - The type of retention varies with the purpose - students may need to retain main ideas and some details; they may need to rephrase ideas in their own words. 200
2. Make the material meaningful - Students need to make rich meaning associations relating ideas to their own experiences and stressing human values. 3. Intend to remember - an active intention to remember helps recall. *t. Select what to remember while reading - an attempt to remember everything one reads leads to confusion. 3. Read material more than one time. 6. Spend time in self-recitation - after reading the material, students then need to close the book and try to recall. 7. Record ideas - underlining, outlining, summarizing, making notes, or writing out questions on the material is helpful to many people. Material that is well organized is easier to remember. 8. Use what is to be remembered - dramatizing a story, making reports, solving problems, or using the informa tion in other ways helps to make learnings more permanent. (p. 221)
Interpretive and Critical Reading
Under the heading of interpretive reading come the cate gories of seeing relationships and making inferences and predictions.
Critical reading is divided into the areas of reacting and develop
ing appreciations and making critical evaluations. These four
subtopics are developed in terms of classroom activities below:
1. Seeing relationships
a. Relating the effect of time and place upon the
action in a story. Sample questions:
Why could this have happened only in the desert? Why did Tony wait until it was dark before he left?
b. Contrasting characters who have remained the same
throughout the story with those who have changed.
Illustrating character development by contrasting 201
early behavior with later behavior patterns.
Sample questions:
Compare the comments of Peter and Fred to determine who learned the most during the visit.
At the beginning of the story what did Joan think of Ted's family? How does she feel now? Explain the change in her feelings. c. Noting and explaining character interactions.
Questions:
How does Mrs. Prince act when Thorton is around? What does this tell us about the way she feels about him? Can you explain her feelings? d. Noting how the author reveals a character - by his
thoughts, by direct description, by his surroundings,
by his actions, by what others say to him and how
they react to him and how he reacts to them. e. Identifying a character's action or occupation and
asking for an enumeration of the qualities that make
him behave that way or enable him to be that way.
Question:
After losing the first two races, Mark came back to win the last one. What helped him to do this? What do we know about Mark that would help explain this victory? f. Discussing the effect that certain events in a
story have on individual characters. Finding the real motives behind characters* actions, those that are not stated but inferred.
Example:
The story says Guy couldn't scream because there was no breath in his lungs. Was that the real reason?
Recognizing turning points in the story and in
characters.
When did Paul finally realize what he was really searching for?
Stan learned to stop depending so much on others the hard way. When did he learn this important lesson and why was it so hard for him? How has his life changed since this lesson?
Asking the students if they have felt the same way
or done similar things as the characters about which
they are reading.
Identifying conflicts and understanding outcomes
in terms of the characters' thoughts and actions.
Asking for interpretations directly by using
questions like these: What does this or that
mean? or what did so-and-so mean when he said
7
Relating form and content. Sample activities and
questions:
(1) Noting the use of narrative or dialogue and determining why one form is used over the other. 203
(2) Detecting the mood of a passage and determining how choice of structure and vocabulary contribute to this.
Someone said that the author had created a monotonous feeling in this paragraph. What was his purpose in doing this (to show the routine in Jane's life) and how does he achieve it (by using short sent ences all following the same pattern)?
(3) Describing the significance of metaphoric language.
Tom talks about his car as if it were a person. How does he describe it? Why does he talk this way? 'What does he really mean when he says ______?
Have students group metaphoric devices of the same type that have occurred in a section together. Ask students to interpret them or reduce them to plain concrete language.
2. Making inferences and predictions
a. Inferring other facts about characters, places, and
events in the story that are not given according to
what is already known.
What do you think Pleasant View Island is like in the winter when it snows?
What kind of a date will John be at the dance tonight?
b. Inferring what will happen next in the story.
Will Jody find Pal? Where*? How? When?
c. Supplying happenings between incidents not given.
Jim ran away and was gone for two weeks. We know what he did during this time. Let us try to imagine what his mother was thinking and doing while he was gone. The story doesn't tell us this. 20b d. Comparing the present situation with a previous
one in the story and deciding what might happen
as a result of present conditions.
When Ken went to the old house before, he did not go in because he was alone and scared. This time Tim is with him. Do you think they will enter the house? Why? e. Listing on the board known points about a situation
and possible outcomes and then discussing the
probability of certain results and the unlikeli
hood of others. f. Asking students to play roles and to make decisions.
How would their decisions differ from those of the
characters?
Recreating the text by following the pattern of a dialogue in the story, but allowing room for inter pretation on the part of the students by leaving certain sentences uncompleted and certain questions unanswered. g. Discussing episode and story endings. Is it
appropriate?
Why? Could there have been another ending? h. Recognizing symbols and giving them meaning -
encouraging students to go beyond the literal
representations of things to discover in them
their symbolic significance, if any.
Why does Mr. Carter grow a garden? To under stand its real significance, think about these questions first: What does he grow in it. What 205
does he do with the harvest? How does he work in the garden? How does he speak of the garden? Now do you see what idea or feeling this garden represents for Mr. Carter? What? i. Determining the theme and implying the author's
intent.
Take one example of how a theme is illustrated and have students add to the list by citing other examples: What is the big idea the author is trying to get across when he shows us the trouble that Sally gets into because of her constant exaggerations. (S: To be honest and always tell the truth) In what other parts of the story does the author make this point?
Show how one theme relates to various characters: Carol is not a big talker, but when her friends need her she is always there. What general theme or principle can we draw from this illustration? (S: that what you really do is more important than what you say) Can you see how this idea is reflected in the other characters in the story?
Matching exercises where conflicting ideologies or themes are compared: How would you describe John, Pam, and Mrs. Phelps? (S: They are help ful, kind, friendly) What about the other charac ters in the story? (S: They are contrary, destruc tive, mean) What is the author depicting by giving us these two distinct camps of characters? (Good and evil) Let's make a list of the good deeds of our heroes and -then show how they are counteracted by the other characters.
Create a dialogue based around a certain theme between two characters in the story and have the students supply the responses of one of the characters according to his consistent remarks and behavior patterns, illustrating a basic theme in the process. j. Deciding what the attitude of the author is toward
the reader and his subject. 206
Does the author ever address the reader directly? How? In what words? What is his tone?
For what audience do you think the author wrote this? What makes you think this?
How "does the author treat his subject? Is he serious or just poking fun? How do you know this?
3. Reacting and developing appreciations
a. Identifying with situations or characters:
How did you feel when Arthur refused to tell where Tom was? Do you think he did the right thing? Why? Why not?
b. Recognizing and appreciating devices for story
development:
Why weren't we surprised when the deer came back? How did the author prepare us for this? Has he used this technique before in other parts of the story? Where? Does he use the technique effec tively? Does he overuse it?
How does the author tell us about past incidents that took place before this story begins? This technique is called flashback. Do you feel that this interferes or detracts from the progression of the story? Does the author achieve transition into the flashback easily? How? Is the flash back repeatedly related to the present thread of the story? How?
Through whose eyes is the party reported? Suppose George had told us about it. How would his description differ from Jenny's? Why did the author choose Jenny as the reporter of this incident? In what other ways could the author have relayed these events to us? Do you think the author used the most effective point of view for his purpose? 207
c. Recognizing and appreciating style, the use of
sensory images, and ways of achieving mood.
How does the author make you feel when he describes the living conditions of the Parker Family? What words does he use to make you feel that way?
What does the author help you to see, hear, smell, feel in his description of John's hospital room. What words does he use to appeal to your senses? Has he appealed to one sense more than the others? Why? How could he have appealed to the other senses in his description?
d. Recognizing ethical values in themes and reacting
to them:
We have noted that Sally's exaggerations get her into trouble and have stated that the author is making the point that it is best to be honest and tell the truth. Were any of Sally's exaggerations ever justified? Can we accept the statement "Always tell the truth" without qualifying it? Is it ever appropriate not to tell the truth? Under what circumstances?
*f. Making critical evaluations
a. Evaluating relevancy and adequacy of form to content:
Has the author said what he wanted to say in the most effective way possible? Could he have drama tized his subject better by putting it into play form rather than narrating it as a short story? Could this story be turned into a play? What would be the limitations of this story as a play? What are the limitations of it as a short story?
Has the author included irrelevant episodes? Determine what is absolutely essential and what could be left out of the story. 208 b. Evaluating relevancy and adequacy of references
to a stated problem:
Are the characters * development and the problems they encounter related in a credible, consistent and adequate way? Would this character as he has been depicted really face these kinds of problems?
Are the circumstances, time, and place compatible with the problematic situations that develop within their confines? To be more specific, would George, a twelve year old farm boy who attends a rural school, have this kind of a problem? c. Evaluating relevancy and adequacy of facts to a
conclusion:
Do the characters resolve their problems? How? Are' the outcomes logical and in keeping with the preceding development of character and plot?
In non-fiction material, has the author presented enough evidence to support his conclusions? Are his conclusions based primarily on opinion or fact? Do the statements he makes present such a limited part of the truth that an incorrect impression is given? d. Distinguishing reality and fact from fantasy and
opinion:
Is the story, character, setting real? Why?
In cases where fantasy is used, how does the author make the situation believable?
To what extent is the author an authority on the subject about which he writes? Develop criteria such as author's background, position, experience with the subject, prejudices, style of writing, and date of publication to help answer this question. ( This last idea was taken from Smith, p. 270) APPENDIX B CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES PRESENTLY USED IN FOREIGN
LANGUAGE READING INSTRUCTION
Breaking the Code
Word-Attack Skills
Whole word recognition
It was noted in Chapter III that the reading of whole words is usually done to practice a sound-symbol relationship that has already been established rather than to develop in the student a basic sight vocabulary from which sound-letter generalizations are derived. In Learning French the Modern Way, after the presen tation for reading of the first dialogue sentence which is shown on a filmstrip with a picture cue, there is an immediate analysis of certain sounds of the sentence (Tiens! Voici mon frere qui arrive.). The second, third, fourth sentences, etc. are treated in the same way. There are no dissertations on orthography at this time. The teacher is simply "calling the students' attention to these visual representations of these sounds en passant."
(p. Ml8) It is not until after this initial treatment of sound-letter associations that any practice on whole word reading
210 211 is provided. The Teacher's Edition then suggests two activities to be used to practice the recognition of words:
After two or three days of this type of activity, write individual words on the board and ask the students to identify them. After they read the word, ask them to use it in a sentence. For example, write on the board the word gars and proceed as follows:
Teacher: Lisez! Class: Gars.
Teacher: Faites une phrase. Student: Bonjour les gars.
Another exercise which helps students to identify individual sound representations is the construction of words. For example, write the letter _i on the board and ask them to pronounce it. Then write the letter ja in front of it and ask for identification. Next, insert the letter m and ask for the word.
Teacher: Prononcez! _i. Class: _i.
Teacher: Prononcez! a _i. Class: _a i_.
Teacher: Lisez! ami. Class: ami.
Teacher: Faites une phrase. Student: C'est notre ami Marc. (pp* M18-19)
In the A-LM text lists of familiar and unfamiliar words are first read out of context and then repeated in groups of sentences using them. Again this whole word reading does not occur until after the sound-symbol correspondence has been pointed out. After the sound-letter analysis has been treated, the teacher is given the following instructions concerning the reading of these words and sentences. These exercises occur after the on-om/y relationship has been demonstrated.
Familiar Words Write on the board the familiar words below and practice reading first in chorus and then indivi dually. Once the students can read all the words with ease, point to individual words at random.
bonjour allons font jouons mon donnons sont vont blonde combien non
Unfamiliar Words Once the preceding familiar words can be read with out difficulty, practice reading the following:
long, ton, on, ombre,son, sombre, don, raconte, trompe, rond, pont, bombe, plomb, dont
Sentences Practice reading the following sentences:
Bon, allons en classe. Tu veux mon dessert? Non! Ils vont en France. Nous gardons ton dessert. Ils font un don. (pp. 95-97)
The reading text, J_e Sais Lire, in the Elementary French
Series of Allyn and Bacon makes use of these techniques for work ing with sight words:
1. Write the sight words on the board beginning with the nouns having students pronounce them, then make simple sentences with each word as it is presented. Present verbs and function words in context with the nouns that have been learned: sur la table dans la maison Le gargon joue avec papa. 213
2. Have students identify words labeling pictures in their books. Have them make oral sentences about these words. (Each noun has its own picture square, and a center square is provided with the verbs - joue and est - and function words to suggest sen tence possibilities).
3- Matching exercises - write the sight words on the chalkboard or put word cards in the pocket chart. Have the pupils locate the words which answer your questions. (Example: Qui aime la poupSe? Pupils locate on the board these words, la jeune fille, or find them on word cards and put them in the pocket chart.
*f. Identification exercise - An object is pictured with three labels. Have the pupil underline the name of the person or thing pictured.
Phonics
Although the following generalization taken from Unit IX of Premier Echelon is mainly the treatment of a grammatical point, students are led to see sound-skmbol relationships inductively.
Write on board: un une
(It is effec- 1. un pantalon gris une chemise grise tive to use col un stylo vert une cravate verte ored chalk for the underlining, 2. un oiseau bleu une auto bleue or for adding un chien noir une jupe noire "e" to the feminine 3* un tricot rouge une ceinture rouge forms.) un maillot jaune une chaussette jaune un chapeau rose une robe rose
SAY: We have learned these words which indicate color. We know that in describing "un11 words we say "gris," "un pantalon gris," or "vert," "un stylo." In describing "une" words with the same colors, we say "grise," "une chemise grise," and "verte," "une cravate verte." 21k
ASK: Expected answers: 1. Is there a difference in the pronunciation of "vert11 and "verte"? Yes. 2. What is the difference in The "t" cannot be pronunciation? heard with "un" words, but it can be heard with "une" words. 3. Is there a difference in the pronunciation of "gris" and "grise"? Yes. k. What is the difference? The "z" sound. 5- Is there a difference in spelling? Yes. 6. What is the difference? There is no "e" on the colors describing "un" words. (or) There is an "e" at the end of the colors describ ing "une" words. 7- What have you observed, then, as the cause of the difference in pronunciation between "gris" and "grise," for example? The final "e." 8. Do the other color words on the board change in pronun ciation? No. 9. Do they change in spelling? Yes, the words in Groups 2 and if. 10. Why is it probable that the They already all have color words in Group 3 do "e" at the end. not change in spelling? 11. In what ways is the "blanc- After the "c," an "h" is blanche" pattern different added before the "e." from all the others? 12. As we look at the column of "une" words, what common letter do we find in all of them? Final "e." 13. Do you remember a word of color which is an exception to all this, and which remains the same no matter what kind of a word it describes? Marron. 215
Write on Board: 1 . Louis 2. un 3- Denis if. chaud etc.
SAY Number 1, this is how the name "Louis'* is spelled. ASK How would you spell "Louise"? Louise SAY Number 2, this is how "un" is spelled. ASK How would you spell "une"? une SAY Number 3t this is how "Denis" is spelled. ASK How do you spell "Denise"? Denise etc.
In the Voix et Imagestext, lessons on sound-symbol corres pondences are presented primarily in conjunction with dictations that are to follow. The lesson illustrated below also demonstrates the deductive nature of most phonics instruction in foreign language reading:
The teacher is instructed to stand in front of the board, chalk in hand, and say:
Teacher: "Voila un sac": dans "un sac" vous entendez le son (_a). J'Scris la lettre (ji), qui represente le son (a), (a) comme dans le sac. (The teacher writes the letter (a) - a few students read aloud.) Teacher: Maintenant, j'lcris: le sac. (The teacher writes the key word.) Teacher: Lisez, s'il vous plait. (A few students read the key word aloud.) Teacher: Donnez-moi d'autres mots ou il y a le son (a). (Then the teacher explains that each time students hear this sound in the dictation, the written symbol for it will be the letter (a).) Teacher: Qui est le mari de Fran^oise? Student: Monsieur Thibaut (or: Michel) est le mari de Franjoise. Teacher: Dans le mari vous entendez le son (_i) • J'ecris la lettre (i) qui reprlsente le son (_i), (i) comme dans le mari. (The teacher writes the letter (i) - a few students read aloud.) Teacher: Maintenant j'ecris: le mari. (The teacher writes the key word.) 216
Teacher: Lisez, s'il vous pla'it. (A few students read the key word aloud.) Teacher: Donnez-moi d'autres mots ouil y a le son (i).
etc.^
Before the pronunciations of spellings are treated formally in most texts, it is recommended that the students learn the alphabet. The FLES reader Qui est la? gives this helpful hint on how the letters in French might be presented to afford rapid learning and better retention: "Divide the alphabet into similar sound groups: (d, c, d, e, g, p, t, v, iw) ; (a, h, k ) ; (f, 1, m, n, r, s); (i, j, x, y ) ; (q, u) ; (o); (z)." (p. i, Teacher's
Manual)
$ui est la? is one of the few foreign language books to advocate a more inductive approach to the teaching of phonics.
After the presentation of memorized dialogues, songs, or poems in written form, it is suggested that the class "should be led to deduce general characteristics of French pronunciation. . . .
From this familiar material, the whole system of sound-letter correspondences should be developed. Skillful questions should lead the students to discover, for themselves, the spellings of
^This sample lesson was taken from an article entitled "From Speech to Writing and Reading" which appeared in the Fall 1967 edition of the CCD Language Quarterly, a periodical pub lished by Chilton, the book company which publishes Voix et Images in the United States. 217 the various sounds.” (p. 1) A few of the techniques proposed in this text for phonice drill are described in these sentences:
To make the work interesting, use familiar "key words." Use contrast to drill on sounds - for instance, u/i, u/ou, on/an. Use games, leaving certain sounds out of familiar words.
The elementary texts Je Sais Lire and Jje Lis avec Joie make use of many techniques to drill sound-letter associations that are particularly effective with students at this level.
These methods are summarized below:
1. In the presentation of vowel sounds, pupils memorize a rhyme containing the vowel (a-a-a, ou est Maria? a-a-a Voila Maria). (p. 38, Je Sais Lire)
2. Words are spoken to students who look at them on the board or on mimeographed sheets. They are to identify those containing the vowel sound under study.
3. The pupils are asked to find names of class members that have the sound under study.
k. The pupils are asked to identify words below pictures with the sound under study.
5. For practice, the pupils are asked to fill in the missing letter for the sound under study. Individual pupils are asked to pronounce each word after completion. The exercise with (_a) looks like this:
m a man r _dis M rie P pa c _rotte b n ne t bleau vec ch t (p. 39, Je Sais Lire)
6. The students are given a lexicon of words contain ing the sound under study and a group of sentences 218
with a word from the lexicon missing. The students are to fill in the blanks and read the sentences. Example:
table tomate tarte cahier gargon regarde chocolat lave
Le ______joue avec la balle. Le gftteau est sur la . Maman ______les carottes. etc. (p. 39* Je Sais Lire)
7. Anagrams are used to give pupils practice on sound-letter relationships. To review the digraphs an and en, the pupils are to complete the anagram below with words whiih will make the sentences correct:
Marc sort de la voiture ___ sautant. e n Est-ce que Denise a dix _____ ? a n II y a beaucoup d e ______. ? n La soeur de maman, c'est m a ______. a n A q u o i ______-tu, David? e n , Les enfants des oranges. n n Le jour avant samedi, c'est ______e n - - -. (p. 7*f, J_e Lis avec JoieT
8. Pupils are asked to categorize words in a mixed list according to a certain sound-letter correspondence:
Ecrivey les mots a la bonne place:
ecoute courent crxe 1 C 1 merci Alice incendie garcon court contre courage descend
c = k c = s
(p. **8, Je_ Lis avec Joie)
9. Students are asked to supply rhyming words for words already listed.
Trouvez des mots qui riment avec les mots suivants:
feu ______mur ______etc> (P* Avec Joie) 219
In the more traditional texts all word-attack skills, including phonics sire treated in pronunciation lessons. It is common for many different sounds to be introduced in a single lesson. In one text the first lesson treats all the vowel sounds in French. The sounds are introduced in model words and are presented with approximate English equivalents. For sounds with no equivalent sound in English, physiological descriptions are given. Many texts use phonetic symbols as an aid in presenting a sound with various spellings. The reading exercises in these texts are simply pronunciation drills consisting of lists of words and sentences containing each sound which are to be read aloud.
Context clues
Seibert and Crocker identify eight different kinds of clues that can be used to guess meanings of words in context.
These clues are explained below with appropriate examples in
French:
1. Description or definition. Look for some kind of description or definition of the word in the context.
L'homme etait completement fourbu, car il avait marchi plus de douze heures sans s'arr^ter.
2. Synonym. Look for a synonymous word or expression in the context.
Ne me celez-vous rien? - - Mais non, pourquoi voulez-vous que je vous cache quelque chose? 220
3* Antonym. Look for an antonymous word or expression or for an opposite idea.
Paul &tait souvent oisif, tandis que son frere travaillait dur. 1 "■ —
k. Association. Read the sentence as if the word were left out. The clues to the meaning of the unknown are to be found in the close association between it and the rest of the sentence.
Le corps du poisson est recouvert d*Scailles.
5. Deduction. Try to find a relationship such as that of cause, purpose, effect, result, etc., between the word and the context.
Elle avanjait avec precaution, Ivitant les flaques d f eau pour ne pas se mouiller les pieds. ------
6. Experience. From what you know, guess what is likely to happen to people and things in a given situation.
7. Root. Try to recognize the root of the word in order to guess its probable meaning.
8. Approximation. Try to give an approximate guess such as: it is some kind of ......
L 1avenue Stait bordSe de vieux ormes au.feuillage Spais. (orme: une sorte d e ...... T) (p. 73)
The following exercises are examples of the kinds of
activities that can be used to provide practice with context clues.
They are taken from Chapter IV of the book Skills and Techniques
for Reading French by Seibert and Crocker.
1. Ask students to guess the meanings of underlined words and then to supply a definition according to the context clues:
De mauvaise humeur, elle repondit d'un air maussade a ses questions. (Une personne qui est de mauvaise humeur est maussade.) 221
2. Students are asked to imagine that the underlined word has been left out and then to fill in the blank with the word that seems to be the most logical choice in that context.
Le chat se defend avec ses griffes. Le chat se dSfend avec ses .
3. Students are asked to guess the meanings of under lined words with the help of hints which are given after the sentence.
II avait couru si vite qu'il Stait maintenant hors d'haleine. (Hint: How are you just after you have run very fast?)
4. Students are asked to give approximate guesses as to the probable meanings of underlined words.
II portait un costume de coutil blanc et un large chapeau de paille. (coutil: une sorte de ...... )
5. Students are asked to replace the underlined words by one general term under which they could be classified.
Nous avancions avec peine parmi des ceps de vigne, des indigos, des fasSoles, des lianes rampantes qui entravaient nos pieds comme des filets et rendaient la marche difficile. (All of these are )
6. Students are asked to identify meanings of under lined words from the context. If they have diffi culty, they may look at the bottom of the page for an indication as to the type of clue given in the context and try again. If they are still unsuccess ful, they may look at an end exercise for a more pointed hint.
Tu t_e gausses continuellement des gens; mais a leur ils pourraient bien aussi se moquer de toi.
Clue: synonym Further hint: The synonymous express sion is _s£ moquer
7. To give the student practice in understanding the extended meanings of a word, often used figuratively, 222
many sentences using the same word in different ways are read and the meanings of the word guessed. The word jour:
Dans une annle il y a 365 jours. En &t&, il fait jour des cinq heures du matin. Elle a donnfe le jour a sept enfants, trois garcons et quatre filles. Je n ’aime ni les mysteres ni les intrigues; j'aime les choses faites au grand jour. etc.
Structural analysis
Foreign language texts vary in their treatment of struc tural analysis, although they are consistent in the fact that this treatment is usually delayed until later levels and that there are few systematic exercises planned to accompany the explanations that are given. In the text Cours Moyen by Dale and Dale word families, such as nouns and their corresponding adjectival forms, are listed and translated. Fill-in exercises are provided for practice on these forms. For example, the forms _la bont& - bon (bonne),
1'esprit - spirituel, etc., are listed and explained, and then such sentences as Cet homme _a _de 1* esprit; il est tres ______are read and completed.
Word families that are presented in the second level
Parler et Lire are listed in the Petit Dictionnaire which intro duces each chapter. The family related to the adjective fort is listed as follows:
Lfo :r/fOrtU adj_ qui a beaucoup deforce; robust, vigoureux. ant faille, $re)g. Adv fortement avec force. 223
Nf (l) action de fortifier une place; T2) l'art de fortifier; (3) ouvrage de dlfense militaire. Nf lieu fortifiS pour rSsister aux attaques d'un ennemi. Vt £g£tJt£i^? (1) rendre fort; (2) entourer une place de fortifications. (p. 2^5)
After a certain reading selection in the third level text Lire,
Parler, et Ecrire the exercise illustrated on the next page is provided to offer practice in recognizing word families. The
directions are included to make clear what is to be done.
Syllabification is treated in one reading drill in Unit 17
of the second level A-LM text. Two model sentences are given
followed by a brief explanation of the syllabic system in French:
II y avait une quan-ti-te de rochers dans l'eau. J'ai e-t£ choisi pour le porter.
In all French words there is only one vowel sound in each syllable. Where possible, syllables begin with a consonant sound: quan-ti-t§, mo-na-mi. (p. 129)
The student is then asked to read groups of familiar and unfamiliar
words and sentences, following these directions: "Read the follow
ing familiar and unfamiliar words (or: the following sentences),
first dividing each example into syllables, then reading it at
normal speed." (p. 130)
Derivational affixes and word families are thoroughly treated
in Levels III and IV in the A-LM texts. There is a section in
each lesson devoted to "word study." In this section, short
explanations are followed by lists of examples. (See page 225) RECOGNIZING WORD FAMILIES
The ability to recognize "word families," by a number, all appear in this article, or groups of words with related meanings Study the chart to determine the formal can often be of great help in reading. relationship (similarities or differences The chart below gives examples of some in form) among the various members of such words, with one or more members of each group. Locate in the article the each group missing. The missing words, words indicated by 1 ---, --- 2 ---- , each of which is represented on the chart etc. and copy the sentence.
Present Past Nouns Infinitives Participles Participles Adjectives Adverbs
---1 ------2 ---- louant louS XX
degustation ----- 3 ---- dSgustant dlgustS XX reconnaissance — k — reconnaissant reconnu XX
— 5 — gaspiller gaspillant gaspilll XX — 6 — apparaxtre apparaissant apparu X apparemment contentement ---7 ---- contentant content! content X
fourmi ---8 ------fourmillant fourmilll XX
----- 9 ------jouer j ouant jouS XX
foudre foudroyer foudroyant foudroyS ----- 1 0 ------X
produit produire produisant ----- 1 1 ------productive X
etonnement etonner etonnant etonne ---12 — — 13
----- 14 — ----- 1 3 ---- pouvant pu puissant puissament franchissement franchir ----- 1 6 ------franchi franchissable X
disparition ----- 1 7 ------disparaissant ----- 1 8 ------disparu X 22
(p. 297) k 225
The prefix re- usually indicates a return to a pre viously existing state: commencer, "to begin;” recommencer, "to recommence,” "to begin again;” descendre "to go down;” redescendre, "to go back down.” r-, rather than re-, is often used with words beginning with a vowel.
Verb Verb with prefix
s 1 asseoir, to sit down se_ rasseoir, to sit down again commencer, to begin recommencer, to begin again sortir, to go out ressortir, to go out again descendre, to go down redescendre, to go back down prendre, to take reprendre, to take back se coucher, to go to bed se recoucher, to go back to bed tomber, to fall retomber, to fall back down, to fall again (p. 162, Level III)
How this "word study" section is to be presented and drilled is described in the Level IV Teacher's Manual:
Assign the Word Study section for study outside of class before taking it up in class. Check the words used as examples by giving the French and asking for the English equivalent or by giving the English and asking for the French. (p. 8)
Reading for Meaning
Literal Comprehension
Phrase and sentence meanings
The meanings of individual words and vocabulary items are established as they are introduced through the use of explanations, definitions, equivalent expressions, oppsities, pictures cues, and pantomime. As these items are combined to form phrases and sen tences, the comprehension of these larger word groups must be checked. The following enumeration of techniques is typical of the exercises provided in most texts to check the understanding of the literal meanings of sentences. 226
1. Write sentences with blanks showing missing words on the board. Place on the chalk tray flash cards with the words. Have the pupils read a sentence silently, look at the flash cards, and choose the one that completes the sentence correctly.
2. List on the board sentences with the last word missing. Have two or more choices for the ending and ask students to read the sentences and furnish the appropriate ending.
la chemise. Maman lave ______, le cheval.
3. Have noun and prepositional phrases on the board or on cards. Have individual pupils read them silently, then orally. Ask each pupil to make a sentence with the phrase.
k. Have pictures each having two sentences describing it, one of which gives an accurate description and the other being entirely unrelated. Have the students read the sentence that tells about the picture.
5- At more elementary levels, have the students draw pictures illustrating sentences.
6. Have pupils match sentences and pictures and then read the sentences.
7. Write a list of sentences on the board, answers to eventual questions. Have the students read the sentences. Ask the questions to these sentences and have the students select and read the appropriate answers on the board.
8. Use non-sense sentences to test comprehension. Make a list of semantically anomalous sentences such as L 1 elSphant Scrit dans son cahier. Students are asked to make them plausible.
Questions
After reading of whole selections, questions are generally used to determine the comprehension of details. Various procedures 227 are recommended. HuebenaFemphasizes the importance of posing questions that follow in a logical sequence and exploit the essentials of the text. He also encourages the introduction of personal questions from time to time for interest and variety and recommends that the question form be replaced occasionally by a command or request. (pp. Certain texts employ
"before questions" which are used to prompt the reader on what to look for while reading. The NE Conference of Reading (1963) warns that this technique if not handled properly, can lead to searching reading. (p. 2 8 )
At the beginning reading levels, it is often advocated that questioning occur at frequent, logical intervals during the narrative, after every series of sentences or paragraphs that decidedly bring the story forward. (p. 28, NE Conference) Some times it is even suggested that the students be drilled first in the answers before being asked the questions. The answers expected are usually exact replications of statements in the text. At more advanced levels, longer responses are expected and there is no previous drilling on the answers.
Summary
A variety of summary techniques are used to check the student's overall comprehension. Dale and Dale describe these specific steps in the preparation of a summary:
1. Read the passage aloud and give necessary explana tions in French. 228
2. Drdll orally the answers to the questions based on the text. 3. Assign the passage to be reread and the answers to the questions to be written. 4. Check the correctness of the written answers and drill again orally. 5. Have students make oral rSsumfes. 6. Ask students to write in class without notes a summary of the same passage. (p. 13)
The following two summary exercises are used after some of the reading selections in the text Contes pour Debutants:
1. Imaginez le dialogue entre le paysan et les messagers en employant les mots suivants: Premier messager: roi, avoir besoin; venir, palais. Le paysan: pourquoi, aller, palais. etc. (p. 6 9 )
2. Raconter le passage d'abord au prSsent puis au passS, en employant les mots suivants: (1) Paysan, ne pas savoir quoi faire; comment, qu&rir? aller voir, roi; il, lui dire, ne rien pouvoir faire; gardes, prendre batons; paysan, crier "gr£ce.n (2), (3), (*0, etc. (p. 71)
At advanced levels summaries are used to give students conversational practice and opportunities for sustained talk.
Preparation for this activity is explained in the Level III A-LM
Teacher's Manual:
To make sure that he (the student) has the necessary information and that he will relate it in logical, coherent order, the student is given a series of questions to answer orally before he attempts the summary. The teacher should have these questions answered orally in class, getting as much variety and as many details as possible and requiring longer and longer responses. After all the ques tions have been answered, the students may be asked to sum up the answers in a sustained talk. They should be encouraged to use connecting words and to combine sentences. Since there is no one summary that is uniquely correct, students should also be encouraged to vary the language used. (pp. 7-8) 229
The directions preceding one of the narratives after which a summary exercise is conducted explain how the technique can be used:
Read the following narrative several times so that you are familiar with it. A group of students will take the parts of the French students in a discussion of the best way to spend their time before taking the train in the evening. The discussion should cover all the essential information contained in the narrative. (p. 307, A-LM, Level III)
Other techniques commonly used to check literal compre hension are listed below:
1. Various multiple-choice exercises in which students are asked to find logical rejoinders, answers to questions, and appropriate completions to unfinished sentences.
2. Matching exercises in which students are to identify the associations indicated in the reading between names and places, characters with descriptions or actions, time and event, etc.
3. True-false activities including correct as well as inaccurate statements about the text which the student is to accept or reject and then restate in accordance with the content.
k. Fill-in exercises are often used as comprehension checks. a. A lexicon taken from a reading selection just read is placed above a list of sentences with blanks in them to be filled by the words in the lexicon. b. A lexicon is provided at the top of the exercise. Model sentences are listed below to be changed by the words in the lexicon to make a true statement about the story:
_a table, am&ricain, anglais, beau, etc.
(l) Samedi la famille est au theatre. Samedi le famille est 230
(2) Dimance il fait raauvais. Dimanche il fait __
Interpretive and Critical Reading
The following list of interpretive questions accompanies the informal prose section introducing Unit 35 of A-LM Level IV.
It is a letter in which Jacqueline is describing to her friend,
Janine» two boy friends about whom she has become quite serious.
Her dating life has become complicated, and she realizes that she must choose between the two. She enumerates the good and bad qualities of each, hoping that Janine will be able to help her make the decision.
1. Comparez les qualit&s de Robert et de Jean-Paul. 2. Est-ce que Jacqueline semble prlfSrer l'un ou 1'autre des jeunes gens? Lequel, et pourquoi? 3* Quel ^ge a Jacqueline, d'apres vous? Qu'est-ce qui indique son £ge? Est-ce que Jacqueline vous parait etre en §ge de se marier? Expliquez pourquoi. 3. Quelle importance les families des deux jeunes gens semblentKQLles avoir pour Jacqueline? 6. Est-ce que vous croyez qu'une jeune fille qui se marie doit £tre pr^te a travailler pour aider son mari? 7. Supposez que les parents de Jacqueline trouvent Robert et Jean-Paul egalement sympathiques. Lequel des deux lui conseilleraient-ils d'Spouser? Pour quelles raisons? 8. Comment vous representez-vous Jacqueline, d'apres sa lettre? (p. 26)
In the second level book Parler et Lire the reading material consists of groups of short dialogues with a continuing story line. Besides the lists of factual questions following each scene, there are two questions given "which involve ideas and interpretation rather than facts stated in the text. 231
(For instance: 'Why should Georges be greatly obliged to
Charles?' Answer - not stated in so many words, but derived:
'Because Charles gets along so well with George's father that his father often forgets about Georges.')" (p. xiii, Teacher's
Manual) Procedures for handling these questions are described this way in the Teacher's Manual:
Read the two questions. Re-read as a dict/e. Allow two minutes per question for the students to find the lines involved, list the number of the lines, and write down the answer based directly on the text. Books are open during this performance, but no exten sion in the amount of time is to be permitted. Have the students exchange papers. Ask the questions of individual students and arrive at the correct line references and the correct answers. (p. 2 8 )
Critical reactions to the reading selections in the text
Lire, Parler et Ecrire are encouraged by the use of this activity at the end of each reading unit:
Que pensez-vous de ce numlro?
Parmi les textes figurant dans ce num&ro, quel est celui qui vous para^t le plus . . . divertissant? optimiste? philosophique? ironique? (p. 3^-8) APPENDIX C EXAMPLES OF TECHNIQUES AND EXERCISES PROPOSED FOR USE
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE READING INSTRUCTION
In this appendix all of the examples will be based on the most elementary material with which the exercises can be illustrated. It is hoped in this way that the point made consistently in Chapter IV that most of these techniques can and should be begun at early levels of instruction will be substantiated. The samples used will be taken from units in the Level One A-LM text, since this series is widely used and is fairly representative of foreign language materials.
Reading Narratives
It is possible to produce interesting recombined narratives based on the limited range of language proficiency that the language student brings to his reading of the first recombined materials. As soon as the student reaches the reading stage, he reads previously memorized dialogues and only one or two recombined narratives per unit, if he is lucky.
Once he has begun to read he should probably read two or three of these short narratives a week and less and less time should be spent repeating memorized material with the script in hand.
This reading will not interfere with the continued emphasis on
233 23*f developing audio-lingual skills at this level, since these narratives require only a few minutes of the students1 time and audio-lingual practice is required in preparation for their pre sentation. As a high school teacher, the author composed many such narratives within the linguistic resources of the students to supplement the few narratives available in the text. The
following narratives to be read after learning the first four units of the A-LM text represent the author's efforts to remain within the bounds of the linguistic limitations of the text and yet to produce some interesting recombined reading material for his students:
C'est samedi. II n'y a pas de cours. Les amis de Robert sont chez Philippe. Ils ecoutent des disques. Robert voudrait Scouter des disques, lui aussi, mais il ne va pas chez Philippe. Ses amis Scoutent les (Monkeys). Robert ne les aime pas. II aime mieux les sonates de Chopin. II n'a pas de chance aujourd'hui.
There are only two new words introduced in this narrative, a well known proper name (Chopin) and a cognate (sonate). Both
of these words were presented intentionally to test the student's recognition of the sounds /J~ / and / 0 / which had been recently
drilled in several phonics lessons.
This second example is a narrative describing a teen-age
courtship written in telegraphic sentences contrasting aussi
and non plus.
Jean habite en face d'une jolie jeune fille. C'est une blonde qui s'appelle Marie. Elle fait du frangais. Jean aussi. Apres l'ecole Jean va 235
toujours a la biblioth^que. Marie aussi. Jean garde une place a sa table pour Marie. Aujourd'hui il y a deux garjons a cette table. Ils adorent Marie. Jean aussi, mais il n'aime pas les deux garijons. Marie non plus. Tant mieux pour Jean!
Whole Sentence Reading
Intonation Patterns
The purpose of the following exercises is to develop in the student an awareness of the rising and falling internal and terminal intonation patterns during his reading. He should be led to observe the visual clues that will help him anticipate the correct intonation.
1. Terminal patterns - With the help of pictures depicting
the sentences of previously learned dialogues or other
memorized material, the students will dictate the
sentences, and the teacher will write them on the
board or on charts.
a. Falling intonation - To illustrate the descending
intonation patterns of questions which begin with
an interrogative pronoun or adverb, certain types
of exclamations, and commands, sentences might be
grouped in this manner followed by student reading
and generalization.
Ou est la bibliotheque? / 4 / Ou sont les romans? / 4/ Ou est-ce qu'il habite? / 4/ Ou vas-tu? / 4/ 236
T: What kind of sentences S: Questions. do we have here? Look at the end punctuation. T: What do all of these ques S: They all begin tions have in common? with o u . T: I will reread them. Tell S: Your voices goes me what happens to my voice down at the end. at the end of each one. T: If, when reading, we meet a S : If you see Ou sentence like one of these, at the begins - what printed clues will tell ning and a ques us what to do with our voic tion mark at the es at the end? end, you will let your voice fall at the end.
Students might then be asked to give the answers to these questions which are written down by the teacher for them to see. They could then be asked to tell the kind of answers that are given. They will probably say "a place, a direction, or a location."
Then a further step in the generalization should be taken to show them that a rapid recognition of the Ou and the end question mark will help not only to determine the final intonation pattern but also to anticipate the coming answer to the question.
Similar generalizations can be made with the follow ing groups of sentences:
Comment vas-tu? Quelle heure est-il? Comment s'appelle-t-il? Quel temps fait-il? Comment allez-vous? Quels sont les jours de la semaine? Comment va Paul? Quel jour est-ce aujourd'hui ? Qu'est-ce que tu fais apres l'lcole? Qu1est-ce qu'il y a a manger? Qu*est-ce que tu as l 1intention de faire?
Qui est-ce? Qui est a l'appareil?
Exclamations studied should be grouped and read for
practice in recognizing another pattern that requires
falling intonation.
Tant mieux! Ca y est! Bonne id&e! Chic alors!
T: In what way are these expres- S: They are all sions alike? Look at the end exclamations, punctuation. T: Listen as I read them and tell S: It goes down, me what happens to my voice at the end.
Practice in reading these exclamatory expressions
can be given by having students read them as
rejoinders to leading statements written on the
board, on cards, or on charts. Such statements
as these would elicit the above explanations:
Mai il y a deux jeunes filles a cette table. Jouons aux cartes. C'est mercredi. Des saucisses! Si on allait faire du ski? II n'y a pas de riz, mais il y a des frites.
Commands also follow the descending type of intona
tion. A reading drill should be conducted to bring
out this generalization. 238
Donne-moi du pain. Attends-moi a la porte. Prenez cette orange. Donnez-moi votre livre.
Allons chez Philippe. Asseyons-nous pres de la fen£tre. Jottons aux cartes. Donnons un coup de t&lSphone a Michel. Allons-y.
T: Look at the first group. S: They are commands. In. .what way are these sen tences alike? T: Listen as I read them and S: Your voice falls and tell me what happens at the end. to my voice at the end. T: Now look at the second S: They all begin group. What do these with words ending sentences have in common? in -ons. T: Yes, and this is a kind of S: It falls. command too. Listen as I read them and tell me what my voice does at the end. T: If, when reading, we meet S: If the sentences a sentence like one of are commands, then these what printed clues we drop our voices will tell us what to do at the end. Some with our voices at the clues might be end? beginning words that end in -ons or -ez.
A summary generlization is now in order to enable
students to see the total pattern of these partial
learnings: /// II Ill Ou vas-tu? Tant mieux! Donne-moi du pain. Comment allez-vous? Ca y est! Prenez cette orange. Quelle heure est-il? Bonne idle! Jouons aux cartes. Qui est-ce? Chic alors. Allons-y. 239
T: What kind of sentences S: They are all questions do we have in column I and they begin with and how do they all question words like begin? ou, comment, etc. T: When we read these S: Fall. questions, did our voices rise or fall at the end? T: What kind of sentences S: They are short excla do we have in column II mations and the voice and what do our voices falls. do at the end of these sentences? T: We have still another S: They are commands, kind of sentence in and we let the voice column III. What is drop. it, and what do we do with the voice at the end of these sentences when we read them? T: In summary, with what S: First with questions kinds of sentences does starting with ou, the voice fall at the comment, etc. We can end and what are the look for the beginning printed clues that will question word and the help us recognize them? question mark. Then the short exclamation, and the exclamation point would be a clue. Finally, the command. Beginning words ending in -ons and -ez help us to recognize these sentences.
After this generalization, students should receive
practice in reading these different kinds of
sentences in mixed order:
Bonne id&e! Qu1est-ce qu'l y a a manger? Allons-y. etc.
It will be noted that in the above whole sentence
reading drills and generalizations that both structural and word analysis was used. Students were led to see what beginning words, inflectional endings, and punctuation could tell them about terminal intonation patterns.
Rising intonation - Rising intonation at the end of a sentence is typical of the question which can be answered by "yes'’ or "no.” These questions may be asked by using rising intonation at the end of a regular declarative sentence by inverting subject and verb, by using est-ce que, and by using the expression n 'est-ce pas at the end of a declarative sentence. Only the first three question forms will be illustrated here. Before conducting a generaliza tion on these question types, the following reading drills should be conducted:
1) Have a group of declarative sentences on the
board without end punctuation. Read them first
as statements. Put a period at the end and a
"down" arrow to indicate the falling intonation:
Tu fais du francais. / //
Erase this punctuation and reread the sentence
as a question, putting a question mark at the
end and an "up" arrow:
Tu fais du franyiais? / ?/ 2*fl
Erase the punctuation once more. Read the
sentence a last time alternating the rising
and falling intonation. Have students go to
the board, punctuate and draw the appropriate
arrow indicating the terminal intonation.
2) To contrast rising and falling pitch and to
drill recognition of subject-verb inversion,
place the subject and verb on cards in inverted
and regular order and sentence endings on other
cards with periods and down arrows on some and
question marks and up arrows on others. Put
the sentence endings on the chalk tray. As
you show the subject-verb card, students are
to select the correct ending and read the
whole sentence:
/ du frangais. / / mon dessert? / / la glace au chocolat. /
/ du frangais? // mon dessert. / / la glace au chocolat. /
Tu fais Fais-tu
Veux-tu Tu veux
Tu aimes Aimes-tu
To contrast questions with falling intonation
introduced by interrogative words in which there is
inversion of subject and verb with questions 2b2
with rising intonation in which there is
subject-verb inversion, several exercises
may be used.
a) Read questions first with rising intona
tion. Then place in front of them appro
priate interrogative words. The sentences
are then reread with the correct falling
intonation. Finally the teacher may mix
the sentences, and the students are to
read them indicating with "up-down" arrows
on the board after each one whether the
intonation is rising or falling.
D§jeunez-vous a midi? / f/ Ou dl jeunez-vous a midi? / U/ Allez-vous a l'&glise? / f'/ Quel jour allez-vous a l'eglise? /✓/ Vas-tu chez Philippe? / f / Comment vas-tu chez Philippe? // / Cherche-t-il a cette table? Que cherche-t-il a cette table? / t/ Fais-tu du frangais? / f / Pourquoi fais-tu du frangais? // /
b) Have students fill in the hannks with the
appropriate beginning word, end punctuation,
or "up-down" arrow according to the printed
clues available. Students are to read with
correct intonation.
______s'appelle-t-il? / / / Tu fais du frangais . / / / Tu y vas tout de suite? / / ______temps fait-il? /✓/ Regardes-tu le journal , / f / 2k3
b) To practice the rising intonation pattern
and to equate the question forms with inver
sion, est-ce que, and declarative order with
rising intonation, the following exercise is
possible. There are three columns of questions.
One question is missing in each row. This
missing form alternates from column to column
as we read down the rows. Choral reading of
the presented forms is suggested while the
missing question is supplied by an individual
student.
Tu vas a l'&cole? Vas-tu a l'Scole? Est-ce que tu vas a l 1Scole? Tu fais du francais? Fais-tu du frangais? ______Veux-tu mon dessert? Est-ce que tu veux mon dessert? Tu aimes le riz? Est-ce que tu aimes le riz? Tu cherches les Cherches-tu les ' romans? romans?
After reading the questions in all three columns
chorally, the reading generalization for these
question forms with rising intonation could be
handled in this way: I II Tu fais du franyais? Fais-tu du franyais? Tu veuz aller en ville? Veux-tu aller en ville? Tu veux mon dessert? Veux-tu mon dessert? Tu aimes la glace au chocolat? Aimes-tu la glace au chocolat? Ill Est-ce que tu fais du frangais? Est-ce que tu veux aller en ville? Est-ce que tu veux mon dessert? Est-ce que tu aimes la glace au chocolat?
T: What kind of sentences are S: Questions, in all three columns? Look at the end punctuation. T: What does our voice do at S: It goes up. the end of all of these questions? T: Are there any printed S: Yes. The est-ce clues that will help us que at the begin- to anticipate the rising ning. And the pattern at the end of ques- question mark, tions in column III? T: What about in column II? S: Yes. The hu comes after fais, veux, aimes. There is still the question mark. T: What is the only clue in S: Just the question column I that will help us mark. It is like prepare for the correct a regular sentence voice pattern at the end? except for that.
2. Declarative sentence intonation patterns - In general,
declarative sentences contain both rising and falling
intonation patterns. Politzer (i960 ) describes this
combination:
. . . a sentence like J 1ai vu mon ami hier soir could normally be pronounced in two stress groups - - one ending with ami, the other with soir. In the first stress group the rising intonation will be used, in the second the falling. . . . One might say that any declarative statement is the implicit answer to a question: in the first part of the statement our curiosity is aroused - - this is the rising intona tion stress group; in the second part (falling pitch) our curiosity is satisfied, and the implicit question is answered at the completion of the statement. (pp« 59-60) 2^5
The following reading exercises are designed to make students aware of the rising and falling patterns while reading. a. Sentences written with rising and falling arrows
over them can be read from the board or mimeographed
sheets.
Je*”voudrais regarder le journal.
J e'-nTai"~pas mon ^cahier.
II faut que j'aille chercher un~livire.
La~blon.de est une ami de~ma^so^xr.
J'aime mieux les frites.
Students are given a list of sentences without
arrow marks. They are instructed to get to the
"high point" on the underlined word. After this
high point is reached, they are told to let their
voices start falling.
II donne un coup de telephone a Michel. Je te garde une place. J'ai envie d1essayer mes skis neufs. II y a des saucisses ^ manger. La blonde est une amie de ma soeur.
A list of questions with whole sentence answers
are put on the board. Students are asked to repeat
the question after the teacher and then to read the
complete sentence answer silently to find one word
or several words that answer the question. Students are asked to go to the board and underline these words. Then they read the whole sentence answers aloud and are instructed to get to the "high point" immediately before the underlined word or words with which they first answered the questions and to let their voices fall with the word or words that actually answer the question.
A qui est-ce que tu donnes un coup de t£l£phone? Je donne un coup de t&lSphone a Michel. Pourquoi vas-tu chez Philippe? Je vais chez Philippe pour Scouter ses disques. A quoi est-ce que tu joues? Je joue aux cartes. A quelle heure dejeunes-tu? Je d&jeune a midi.
Politzer recommends the use of the expansion drill to help the student identify high pitch points and to control the pitch intervals. Similar drills can be used in reading. Word groups combined to make longer sentences may be put on cards. These cards are placed on the chalk tray and read. A point on the board can be made to indicate the high pitch point of the sentence. The cards may have to be shifted to the left or right of this point as the sentence is expanded. In the following example, the symbol * = the high point. 2^7 * On va Scouter.
* On va Scouter des disques.
* On va £couter des disques chez Philippe.
* On va Icouter des disques :chez Philippe apres l'&cole.
3. Mixed intonation patterns - Once the student has been
made aware of the various intonation patterns and the
printed clues that can help him to distinguish them,
he needs continued practice on all patterns. Mixed
drills are effective at this point. In the following
exercise the intonation patterns of the first few
sentences are indicated after the sentence in parentheses.
With the rest of the sentences he is on his own.
1. Marie aime les frites. 2. Marie aime les frites? (____ _— 3. Qui aime les frites? ( —■*) k. Paul regarde le journal. 5* Est-ce que Paul regarde le journal? 6. Qui regarde le journal.
Word order and structure words in sentence patterns
The purpose of the following exercises is to develop in the reader an awareness of important word groups in sentences and their markers, key words, relational words, and order in whole sentence patterns. 2k8
1. Word order in sentence patterns - Expansion, substi
tution, transformation, and completion drills can be
read to develop an awareness of word order.
a. Scrambled sentences - The teacher prints on cards
the words or word groups of familiar sentences.
These cards are then placed on the chalk tray in
mixed order. The students are to come forward,
rearrange the cards and then read the sentence.
/ le journal.~7 / Je / / regarder / / voudrais / (Je voudrais regarder le journal.)
/ a cette table. / / deux jeunes filles / / II y a j (il y a deux jeunes filles h cette table.)
b. Question and answer matching - To enable students to
recognize the word order changes that occur from
question to answer, the teacher may write a number
of common questions and their corresponding answers
on these cards. These are drilled in sight reading
exercises for several days. When recognition is
rapid and reading has become fluent, mix the
question and answer cards together and place them
on a table or the desk in the front of the room.
Ask one student to come forward, select a question,
hold the card so that the class can see it and read
it. This student is to remain standing before the
class with the question card while a second student
is asked to search for the answer to that question among the cards on the table. When he finds it, he shows it to the class, reads it, and stands beside the student with the question. This process continues until all of the questions and answers on the table have been matched.
Substitution reading drill - Have the words of a familiar sentence written on cards. Practice read ing the sentence aloud. Show another word on a card that could replace one of the words in the original sentence. Have the class read the word and then ask a student to place it over the word that it replaces and to read the new sentence.
II ^ a deux .jeunes filles £ la table. (The class reads this sentence several times. The teacher shows the word porte. The class repeats this word. A student takes the card with porte and places it over the word table. He rereads the sentence.) II y a deux jeunes filles JL _la porte.
Expanded sentences - Have the words of a complete sentence printed on cards. Show one group of words and have the class read it. Show the words of another group that will follow or precede the first
group. Students are to arrange the order of the words within the group and then place them before 250 or after the first group. This continues until
the entire sentence is built.
T: (Showing the words le pick-up) Lisez. Le pick-up. S : le pick-up. T: Tshowing the words, pas, n e , and marche) Prenez ces mots. Arrangez et mettez-les avec le pick-up. S: (Placing the words in order and reading) le pick-up ne marche pas. T: (Showing the words parce que) OH vont ces mots? devant ou apres? S: (Placing the words in order and reading) parce que le pick-up ne marche pasz. T: (Showing the words pas, chance, de) Arrangez ces mots. Mettez-les avec les aiitres. S : pas de chance parce que le pick-up ne marche pas. T: (Showing vous n'avez) Enfin ces deux mots, et quelle est la phrase? S : Vous n 1 avez pas de chance parce que le pick-up ne marche pas.
Colored pocket charts - To develop an awareness of the relationships and order of word groups in various sentence types, this kind of substitution reading drill is useful. Students may be helped to antici pate the endings of the sentence patterns N Vt N,
N Vi Adv, and N VI Adj by conducting substitution reading drills and identifying the sentence ending by a certain color. Words are placed on cards which are put into pocket charts. The words that occupy
the same slot in the sentence are placed in the same pocket. As the word card is removed from
the pocket, there appears behind it another card with words that can fill the slot appropriately. For example, if the sentence is Je cherche les
disques, and the card with les disques is removed,
then behind it might appear a card with JLe journal
on it. Charts of the three sentence types above
might look like this:
Je cherche le livre. Marie va chez le docteur. blue green
L'lglise est belle. red
After considerable practice reading these sentences
and the substitutions, the teacher then shows a card
and asks in which pocket it should be placed. The
students answer by naming the color and then read
the sentence. If for example the card were
a. 1* eglise, the student would say "vertn and read:
Marie va & 1 1eglise.
Structure words - Many of these exercises can be done in conjunction with the above activities. Other possibili ties are listed below: a. After having done an exercise such as (5) in the
above section, students can be given skeleton
sentences with only the structure words provided.
The sentences might be written on the board in this
way: Je ______le______., Nous ______a la . 252 or La ______est ______. Content words printed
on cards and placed in the chalk tray would serve
as lexical items to be used in the blanks. b. Substitution drills with structure words can call
the student's attention to the various markers that
commonly occur with certain words. This will also
help to distinguish and clarify the meanings of
these little words which are often lost in the
larger context. % a son pres de Paul regarde le journal. Nous jouons l'ecole. un loin de dans
la Asseyons-nouns a cette table pres de la fen^tre. une c. Identifying relationships - In the following exercise
the underlined word is used in place of the name of
a person or thing mentioned in the same sentence or
a previous one. The student is to read the sentence
and identify for whom or what the underlined word
stands:
Tu vas a la bibliotheque? J'x. vais aussi. (y = a la bibliotheque) Tu vas au cours de franjjais? Nous aussi. Allons-^. (y = au cours) 253
Pierre: Ici Pierre . . . Bernard est la? Mme Dupont: II vient d'arriver. j£ te_ _le passe. (II = Bernard, Je = Mme Dupont, te = Pierre, le = Bernard)
Paul: Allons chez Philippe. Jeanne: D'accord. Attends-moi a la porte. (moi = Jeanne)
Paul et Jeanne: Jouons aux cartes. Philippe: II nous faut un quatrieme. (nouns = Paul, Jeanne, et Philippe)
Marie: Tu veux mon dessert? Je n'aime pas la glace au chocolat. Louis: Alors, je la prends. (la = la glace)
d. A group of structure words is provided above a list
of sentences each containing a blank to be filled by
the apporpriate structure word. The student is to
find the correct word for each blank and read the
sentence:
plus que au et de pas a ne
1. jQ z1 est-ce qu'il y a _____ manger? 2. Je suis grand que toi. 5- Je n'aime les saucisses. k. fa ______fait rien. 5- Donne-moi du pain ______du beurre. 6. II faut ______j'aille chercher un livre. 7. En face ______l'Sglise. 8. J'ai envie d'aller cin&ma.
Word-Attack Skills
Whole word recognition by sight
A number of techniques for drilling the recognition of whole words has already been listed in Appendix B, pages 210 to 213- Other activities are indicated on the next page. Presenting words for drill - Words may be presented by
labeling pictures or writing them on flash cards. It is
recommended that they first appear in context. After a
number of whole sentences has been drilled to the point
of rapid recognition, a familiar sentence may be shown
with a blank in the place of the word that is to be
practiced for more detailed recognition. When the
students supply the word from context, they are
immediately shown the word on a flash card.
T: (Showing on flash card _____ t 1 appelles-tu?) Complltez la phrase. S: Comment t1appelles-tu? T: (Showing comment on flash card) Prononcez: comment. S: comment. (Several students repeat the word) T: (Putting the card with comment over the blank in the sentence) Maintenant relisez toute la phrase. S: Comment t1appelles-tu?
The word comment may now be drilled separately with the
flash card. When showing the word, the teacher may ask
the students to supply a number of questions that begin
with it: Comment vas-tu? Comment s'appelle-t-il? etc.
A large reserve of sight words can be built in this way.
Drilling sight words - The following exercises will help
students to recognize words rapidly. If words are
grouped according to common sounds, they will begin to
associate sound and symbol which will facilitate future
phonic instruction.
a. Naming and pointing to words - The teacher writes a
numbered list of individual words on the board. He 255
akks the students to name the words to which he
points or to give the numbers of words which he
names. A group of words containing the sound
/ O / might be used:
1. comment 5- alors 9. bonne 2. Idommage 6. d'accord 10. donne 3. roman 7. porte 11. sommes k. moment 8. sport 12. comme
T: (Pointing to 10) Lisez. S : donne. T: donne. Maintenant je lis: comme. Quel numlro? S: douze, etc. b. There are a number of variations on the above
exercise.
1) Wheel of chance - Students may spin a clock face.
They are then required to read the word which
corresponds to the number where the hand stops.
2) A student is asked to go to the board and erase
one of the words and then ask another student
what word he erased (Quel mot est-ce que j1 efface?)
3) Guessing game - A student goes out of the room
while others pick out a word he is to guess.
When he returns, he is to read the words until
he says the one that was selected. c. Card drawing - When many sight words on flash cards
have been learned, the cards may be placed face down
on the desk or table in front of the class. Students
are asked to draw them, read the printed word to the class and then supply the familiar context from
which the word was taken,
d. Other games - Bingo is a popular game in which words
are used instead of numbers. Simon Says is fun for
younger students. In this game the teacher reads
words, phrases or whole sentences from the board
or from flash cards. If the reading does not
correspond to what is written, the students remain
silent. Otherwise they are to repeat.
Phonics
Phonics instruction in foreign language teaching is
fairly well developed. Techniques used are listed in Appendix B,
pages 217-218. Below are listed other activities which can be
added to those in Appendix B.
1. Consonant sounds
a. To introduce a letter-sound relationship, have
students provide from the context of familiar
sentences missing words that begin alike. Then
provide the words on flash cards for drill before
the generalization:
Vous n'avez pas de ____ aujourd'hui. (chance) Comment! Tu n 1 aimes pas la glace au _____ ? (chocolat) Allons _____ Philippe. (chez) II faut que j'aille ______un livre. (chercher) Fait-il froid? Non, il fait ______. (chaud) 257
b. Have students underline the word in each sentence
that contains the sound under study. For example,
in the following sentences it is the sound /«/:
1. II nous faut un quatrieme. 2. D'accord. C'est une bonne idle. 3- Deux et trois font cin^. b. On va au _cours . de franjais.
c. Students are asked to change words by adding initial
or end consonant sounds. The writing of missing
letters may be done by the students or by the
teacher as the students dictate them. Words are
read in context by the students:
T: I will say two words. Listen to the beginning of the second word and determine what sound has been added. Look at the word with the missing letter or letters and then read the sentence. In the sentence you will find the word and will then see what letters represent the sound at the begin ning of each word. Write these letters in the blanks.
Student hears: Student sees:
/ e i / - / k £ 1/ e 1 1 e Quelle heure est-il? i l i e Est-ce qu'elle a une soeur? — — e • /ii/ ■- /kil/ i 1 Est-ce qu'il fait chaud?
/o/ - /fo/ a u t 11 nous faut un quatrieme.
/u/ - /tu/ o u t C'est tout droit. A u/ o u e Je joue aux cartes. A u / o u P Donnons un coup de telephone a Paul. /nu/ o u s 11 nous faut un quatrieme.
/e/ - / 5 e/ • a i J'ai mon cahier. 258
T: This time listen to the final sounds that are added.
/ku/ - /kur/ c o u Au cours de francais.
/&i/ - /disk/ d i Ecouter ses disques.
/ J o/ - / y oz/ c h o Pas grand'chose.
/ f r/ - / J t rf/ cher Je cherche le livre.
d. Flash cards with colored~letters representing the
same sound can be used to help drill correspondences.
e. Have on the board or on mimeographed pages single
letters or digraphs that represent consonant sounds.
Read words one at a time and have students circle
on the page or on the board the letter or letters
with which the word begins:
Student hears: Student sees:
cinima jeu ch qu gant chance c j tht; Guillaume g gu sept temps s t quatre th
f. Both initial and end substitution can be practiced
on the following phonics chart which allows the
vertical tags containing the front and end letters
to move up and down while the center letters on
remain constant. 259
de
on
bl all don
From this chart students can make such words as
ton, vont, blonde, non, allons, etc.
2. Vowel sounds
a. This completion drill capitalizes on rhyme and can
be used to introduce the sound /£./t ^ / and its written
correspondences or to provide practice on this
association. The teacher may have this on a
chart or written on the board. He writes in
missing letters as the students dictate the word.
T: The last words in the following sentences all rhyme. Read the sentence and supply the missing word:
1. Moi, j ' ai tres f _____ . 2. Donne-moi du p ______. 5. Je vais tres b ______. b. Ca ne fait r ______. 5. Est-ce qu'il habite tres 1 _____ ?
b. Students are asked to substitute certain letters
for underlined portions in given words and to give
the correct pronunciation. 260
T: Change the underlined letters in the following expressions to either oi or ois and pronounce these letters as /wa/.
Student sees: Student says and writes:
Que faire? ______(Quoi faire?) Pas mal. (Pas moi.) C'est tout. (C'est toi.) Veux-tu? (Vois-tu?) Pas tout. (Pas toi.) c. Students are asked to substitute one vowel sound
for another. They are given a model. All of the
substitutions rhyme with the one given in the
model.
Les Rimes Changez tu a tout non a (^ous) au a______(ou)
Changez qui a quelle beau a______(belle) il a______(elle) d. After several associations have been established,
contrasting exercises are necessary to check reten
tion and the student's ability to distinguish between
sound-letter correspondences. The teacher may list
the following columns of words on the board or on
sheets to be distributed to the class. He may read
any word in any column. The student is to circle
only the words read by the teacher. 261
I II III IV pont peau pois peu font faut fois feu sont seau soi ceux vont veau vois veux dont d' eau do is deux
The teacher may say /vwa/ first. The student
would circle the fourth word in the third column.
3. A phonics generalization - This is a summary generaliza
tion that occurs after many of the particulars of "fit"
in the items below have already been established.
g + (e, i) g + (a, o, u, £)
j'y Gigi Guy Gisele Guillaume
j 'ax &g§ gax manger fatigu§
3 j * adore rougeatre gargon J eanne garde
ai-je rouge longue neige langue
3 joli Georges gomme
6 joue goftte bonjour
7 janvier argent gant jambe
8 grand glace feglise anglais
T: (Pronounce and have students repeat the words in column I under ) What sound does the letter £ represent in all these words? the sound ( 3 ). 262
T: (Pronounce and have students repeat the words in column II under g + e, i) What sound does the letter represent in these words? S : the sound (3 ) • T: (Pronounce and have students repeat the words in column III under g + a, o, u, C) What sound does the letter £ represent in these words? S : the sound ( £ ) • T: Let's go back to column I. Does the letter always stand for the same sound? S: yes. T: And what is that sound again? S : the sound ( J ) . T: Notice the different sounds and their letters that come after the letter Name some of the sounds following and the letters that represent them. S: (e) by ai, (i) by (u) by ou, (a) by an and a m . T: Does the letter then always stand for the sound (3 ) no matter what letters or sounds follow it? S: yes. T: In columns II and III we see that the letter can represent two sounds. What sounds and in which columns? S: the sound (5 ) in column II and the sound (g) in column III. T: Look at column II. What are the two letters that come immediately after the j£? S : _i and _e. T: When does the letter _£ represent the sound ( 3 )? S: When it is followed by the letters i, or _e. T: Does it matter what sound comes after the £ when it stands for (3 )? Name some of the sounds following as (3 ) and the letters that represent them, f i) by _i, (e) by je and _er, (a) by _ea, (o) by eo, (S') by en. T: Can the letter g, when it has the sound ( 3 ) be followed by a number of different sounds? S: yes. T: Can the letter £ when it has the sound ( 3 ) be followed by a number of different letters or only by two, ji and _e? S : Only by two, _i and e. T: Look at column III. What letters come after this which has the sound (g)? S: u, a, o_, and the consonants _1 and r_. T: Then, when does the letter j? represent the sound (g)? S: When it is followed by the letters a, _o, u, or the consonants 1 and r. 263
T: What sounds come after the letter £ when it has the sound (g)? S: (i), (e), (a), (0), (u), (a), (r), and (l). T: Do the same sounds follow the £ which stands for ( 3 ) as follow the £ which represents (g)? S: yes, except for the sound (u) and the consonants. T: Then how do we know to say ( 3 ) or (g) when we see the letter £? S: If the letter £ is followed by i^ or £, we say (3 )• If it is followed by a, o, u, or a consonant, we say (g). T: Now look at the words in rows 3 and 5 in column II. After the £ in the words rouge&tre and Georges, we have the sounds (a) and (o) represented by the letters ea and eo. What letter in these spellings is silent? S : the letter _e. T: If we took the letter _e out, then what sound would we have to give the letter £? S: the sound (g), because before o_ and & it has that sound. T: Then what does the letter e_ after £ and before _a and 0 tell us to do? S: it tells us to give £ the ) sound before the _a and _o. T: Now look at the words in rows 1, 2 , and h in column III. After the £ in Guillaume, fatiguS, and longue, we have the sounds (iTJ (e ), and no sound at all represented by the letters £i, £§, and u£. What letter in these words is silent? S: the letter u and ue in longue. T: If we took the letter u out, then what sound would we have to give to the letter £? S: the sound (3)> because before i. and _e it has that sound. T: Then what does the letter u after £ and before j. and _e tell us to do? S: it tells us to give £ the (g) sound before the 1 and e .
Context clues
1. Illustrations of the questioning procedure by which
students can be led to infer the meaning of a word
through context. 264 a. In Unit 11 of the Audio-Lingual Materials the
word chat appears for the first time in the
narrative at the end of the unit. The word is
explained in a marginal explanation. However, the
context is sufficient enough to reveal the meaning
of the word. The context is presented below along
with a lesson plan to demonstrate how, through
proper questioning, the meaning can be devined
quite accurately.
. . . Oh, la, la, le chat: il n'est plus a la fen&tre. Ou est-ce qu’il peut bien £tre, cet animal? II faut encore que je le cherche. Minou, Minou, ou es-tu? Eh bien, te voila. Tu veux du lait?
T: C ’est la premiere fois qu1on a le mot chat. Qu'est-ce qu'un chat? Vous allez me dire. Regardez la phrase: Ou est-ce qu'il peut bien £tre, cet animal? Y a-t-il un mot dans cette phrase qui vous donne une idSe? S: Oui, le mot animal. Un chat est un animal. T: Mais quelle sorte d'animal? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dans les autres phrases q.ui peut nous aider? Ou, par exemple, est-ce que Mme Fournier le cherche? S: a la fen£tre. T: Bien. Finissez cette phrase: Un chat est un animal qui aime s'installer ______. S: a la fen^tre. T: Pourquoi a la fen^tre? S: Pour profiter du soleil. T: Et quand elle trouve le chat, qu'est-ce qu'elle lui demande? S: S'il veut du lait. T: Maintenant on sait ce qu'il mange, cet animal, et ou il aime s'installer. Donnez-moi une phrase qui nous dit ces deux choses. S: Un chat est un animal qui aime s'installer a la fen&tre et qui aime le lait. T: Bravo! Et comment s'appelle le chat? S: Minou. T: Chaque animal a son cri, sa fajon de parler. Est-ce que le mot minou ressemble a un cri d'un animal? S : Oui, miaou! T: Bon. Voila le cri du chat. Maintenant, Marc, allez au tableau. Dessinez un chat. Regardez encore une fois le texte. Quels mots dans le texte vous aident a comprendre le mot chat? S: Les mots animal, _fen£tre, lait, et Minou.
The author has used the above lesson himself, and although students guess the meaning after the first several clues, the point is made that this is an important lesson in context clues. The challenge during the rest of the lesson is to see what other clues the text contains and how they are revealed.
The following lesson, based on a sentence from
Le Petit Prince, shows not only how the meaning of a word can be guessed through context, but also how the context can be used to refine and make specific the first general meaning that the students grasp. This is naturally a more advanced lesson for a third or fourth level class.
T: (Have the students repeat the following sentence) "Alors, faute de patience, comme j'avais h£te de commencer le dSmontage de mon moteur, je griffonnai ce dessin-ci:" Remplacez le mot griffonnai par un autre mot. S: Je fis ce dessin, je dessinai ce dessin. T: Alors, que veut dire "griffonner?" S: "Griffonner" veut dire "dessiner." 266
T: Tres bien. Mais comment est-ce qu'il dessine? avec soin? S: Non, il le fait tres vite. II n'a plus de patience. T: Eh bien, comment est-ce qu'on Scrit ou dessine quand on le fait sans soin? S: On griffonne. T: Le Pilote est press!. II dessine a la hEite. Maintenant que veut dire "griffonner?" S: "Griffonner" veut dire "dessiner a la h&te."
2. Checking guesses - Students must also learn the importance
of checking the guesses that they make. This leads to
better retention and more accurate comprehension. The
following reading passage, taken from Les Jeux sont
Faits by Sartre, was pointed out to the students for
close reading as an exercise on checking guesses of
word meanings in context. The word clochard is
repeated in the passage. The students were asked to
guess its meaning immediately the first time they
encountered it and then to check that.guess against
the repetition and its context. The lesson that
developed follows the text below:
Pierre aperjoit tout a coup, devant lui, un vieux clochard aveugle. II a pos! sa s&bile devant lui et joue de la flute. Les vivants, en passant, jettent des pieces dans la sebile. Pierre s'arrete devant l1aveugle, le regarde et dit: C'est les vivants qui m'int/ressent. Tenez, ce vieux clochard. C'est un pauvre type. Le dernier des hommes. Mais il est vivant.
T: Vous avez lu la premiere phrase et vous avez rencontrl le mot clochard. Q'est-ce qu'il y a dans le premier paragraphe qui nous aide a comprendre ce mot? Quelle !tait votre premiere conjecture en ce qui concerne le sens de ce mot? 267
S: C ’est une personne, un vieil homme pauvre. T: Oui, il est vieux - "un vieux clochard.'' Mais comment savea»-vous q u ’il est pauvre? S: Les passants lui donnent des pieces. T: C ’est comme ^a qu’il gagne sa vie? S: Probablement oui. II joue de la flftte et on lui jette des pieces. II vit de charitl. T: Qu'est-ce qu'on appelle une personne qui vit de charitl, de mendicitl? S: Un mendiant, un vagabond. T: Maintenant il faut verifier notre conjecture. Le mot clochard se rlpete dans le deuxieme paragraphe. Est-ce que la description de Pierre correspond a notre idle? S: Oui, Pierre dit que "c'est un pauvre type," le dernier des hommes." T: Bon. Ces deux phrases nous rassurent que nous avons bien devinl. Qu'est-ce qu'un clochard? S: Un clochard est un mendiant. Dans ce passage c'est un vieux type qui joue de la flftte pour qu'on lui donne de 1'argent. (p. 55)
5. Beginning exercises - At the most elementary level,
occasional reading exercises designed to check the
meanings of words and phrases can be used to show
the importance of context.
a. Fill-in sentences - Familiar sentences are listed
with blanks to be filled by words in a lexicon
placed above the sentences,
cartes place deux amie
1. La blonde est une _____ de ma soeur. 2. Je te garde une ______. 5« II y a ' jeunes filles a cette table. k. Jouons aux alors. 268
b. Matching the beginnings and the endings of
sentences can also be used to develop the
ability to anticipate meaning in context:
1. Attends-moi de l'Sglise. 2. J'aime mieux a la porte. 3- C'est l'heure les frites. k. En face de d&jeuner.
c. Multiple choice sentence endings provide practice
in anticipating meaning through context:
(chocolat 1. J'aime la glace au (pain (riz (la fen^tre 2. Nous £coutons (les cartes (les disques (grand1chose 3. II habite (loin d'ici (tout de suite
Structural analysis
1. Inflectional endings - The following reading drills can
help students focus on important inflectional endings
and their meanings.
a. Place different subject pronouns as headings on
the board, together with a list of sentences with
blanks where the subjects are to go. Students are
to read each sentence completing it with the
appropriate subject:
/Nous -ons/ /Vous -ez/ /Tu -es/ /ils ent/ 269
1.______fermez la porte. 2. ______cherchons le livre. 3. ______habitent loin d'ici. k. _____ aimes le riz? 5. ______dSjeunons a midi. b. Students are to choose a singular or plural subject
to fill in the blank according to the inflectional
clues given:
les romans Paul et Marie la jeune fille
le pick-up
1. Ou habitent ______? 2. Comment s'appelle ______? 3. Ou sont ______? k. Comment marche ______aujourd'hui? c. Students are to fill in the blanks with est or sont
according to the inflectional information in the
rest of the sentence. This is an oral reading drill.
Nothing is to be written.
est sont
1. Ou les livres? 2. Ou la jeune fille? 3. Ou l'ami de Robert? k. Ou les cahiers? 5. Ou le dessert? d. Reading paired sentences can develop an awareness
of inflectional endings. The inflections should be
underlined or marked in the first pair to point out
the pattern.
La maison est grande. La blonde est petite. Les maisons sont grande_s. ______.
Nous avons du beurre. Nous avons du pain. Nous n 1 avons pas de beurre.______. Affixes - Suffixes and prefixes and their meanings can be drilled in these exercises:
Synonyms and antonyms may be studied in terms of
adding or subtracting prefixes. The spelling and
sound phenomena determining the use of certain
prefixes should be brought to the students'
attention. The following generalization is
conducted in the foreign language, for this
lesson would occur in the second or third year
and students would understand.
T: Regardez ces mots:
im + p, m in dls + V, des = dis (Eng) immoral incapable dSsordre immortel invisible deshonorer impoli inutile imprScis
lr + r il + 1 irr&el illegal irresolu illogic irresistible iliegitime
T: (After pronouncing the words with students) Tous ces mots commencent par des prefixes. Nommez les prefixes. S: im, in, des, ir, il- T: Est-ce que ces prefixes ont le mtme sens? S: Oui, "Pas.” Ils donnent un sens negatif aux mots. T: Regardez les deux dernieres colonnes. Quels sont les prefixes? S: ir- et il- T: Par quelle lettre commencent les mots devant lesquels on met le prefixe ir-? S: r . T: Par quelle lettre commencent les mots devant lesquels on met il-? S: 1. T: Maintenant regardez les deux premieres colonnes. Quels sont les prefixes? S: im- et in-. T: Si le prefixe est im- par quelle lettre le mot commence-t-il? S : i ou T: Comment est-qu'on prononce le prefixe im- devant m? S : /im/ T: Et devant p? / ** t S: / £ / T: Si le mot ne commence pas par ni ou c'est quel prefixe? S : in-. T: Prononcez: invisible, inutile. Comment le prefixe in- seprononce-t-il devant une consonne? Ss / € / T: devant une voyelle? S : / in/. T: Et la colonne au milieu? Devant quel son vient le prefixe des-? S: une voyelle. T: Finissez les definitions. Les phrases qui suivent viennent du texte que nous venons de lire.
Ce qui n'est pas lisible est______. Son Scriture etait tout a fait ______. Ce qui n'est pas perceptible est______. L'ironie de 1'auteur est souvent ______. Ce qui n'est pas llgitime est ______. Le juge a declare que le mariage etait ______. Ce qui n'est pas agreable est . On ne s'est pas attendu a ce que le voyage soit si______. etc.
Give the meanings of affixes. Then give the defini tion of a desired word. The students provide the word and use it in a sentence: r-, re- = encore, de nouveau d§ = un changement, une modification, une destruction de ce qui est fait en- em- = avec soi, autour, prS = par avance dans (en)
1. juger, voir par avance ce qui va arriver- . 2. mettre en un lieu fermfe- . 3. tourner d'un autre cdt&; changer la direction- . *f. sortir de nouveau- . etc.
Word families and compound words - The following exercises
taken from Seibert and Crocker's Skills and Techniques
for Reading French suggest the kinds of activities that
can be used to make students aware that a knowledge of
word families and compound words will help them to unlock
the meanings of words that might otherwise present a
problem.
a. Use a group of related words in sentences. Then
show students how they can extend the knowledge of
the derivational affixes used in this family to
other families.
familie du mot feuille
L'ensemble de toutes les feuilles d'un arbre s'appelle le feuillage. Un arbre qui a beaucoup de feuilles est feuillu. Arracher les feuilles d'un arbre c'est 1'effeuiller.
1. Feuillu veut dire "qui a des feuilles;" que veulent dire les mots suivants?
a. barbu b. chevelu c. cornu
2. Feuillage veut dire "une collection de feuilles;" que veulent dire les mots suivants:
a. branchage b. plumage c. herbage 273
3. Effeuiller veut dire "enlever les feuilles;" que veulent dire les mots suivants?
a. Ibrancher b. feffruiter c. ScrSmer (pp.13-1*0
b. To show how meanings of compound words can generally
be derived from the meanings of the parts, ask
students to guess the meanings of the compound
words in these sentences:
1. Servez-.Vous de ce casse-noix pour casser ces noisettes. , 2. Avec la mort du pere, la famille a perdu son gagne-pain. 3- Vous ne pourrez pas ouvrir cette bouteille de vin sans tire-bouchon. 4. Mettez ces provisions dans le garde-manger. (p. 23)
Reading for Meaning
Literal comprehension
1. Phrase and sentence meaning - Foreign language texts
make use of a number of activities to develop phrase
and sentence meanings. See Appendix B, pages 225-226.
A few other possibilities are considered here.
a. Phrase reading
1) Ask students to locate quickly phrases in a
group of designated sentences or a short
narrative in answer to specific questions.
T: Dans ce petit paragraphe, trouvez le groupe de mots qui nous dit: (1) ou Louis attend? (2) pourquoi il veut rentrer. (3) qui lui ouvre la porte. 27if
2) Ask students to mark off what they think are
the thought units in several sentences and
then tell what questions could he asked about
each phrase (Who, Where, etc.).
/La femme en blanc/ dit au dentists/ que monsieur Leblanc/ / vient d'arriver/ pour son premier rendez-vous./
1. Qui annonce 1'arrivSe de monsieur Leblanc? 2. A qui dit-elle qu'il arrive? 3. Qui vient d'arriver? etc.
3) Tell students to look at a paragraph or group of
sentences, find the phrase that you dictate and
then indicate its meaning.
T: Trouvez ces mots: il n'a pas envie. Lisez toute la phrase. S: II est evident qu'il n'a pas envie d'entrer. T: Qu'est-ce que 5a veut dire, il n'a pas envie? S: II ne veut pas. T: Relisez la phrase avec _il lie veut pas.
k) Instruct students to find a phrase in a narrative
that tells them what the main character feels,
sees, hears:
Qu'est-ce que Louis voit? (une jeune fille qui porte une robe blanche) Qu'est-ce que Louis entend? (quelqu'un qui dit: "Docteur, vous me faites mal!") Quel sentiment Louis a-tr-il avant d'entrer? (il manque de courage) b. Sentence reading - Comprehension exercises are
plentiful in most texts to check the understanding
of sentence meanings. Here are a few additional 275 activities that can be used to add variety to what is already available.
1) The student is to rearrange the words in
jumbled sentences and then tell whether the
sentence is true or false:
T F 1. le dentiste, un pantalon, porte, blanc.
2) Students read each sentence and then decide
whether the underlined part tells when, why,
how, or where. Students are to circle the one
correct word which follows the sentence.
1. II joue aux cartes apres l1Scole. quand comment ou pourquoi 2. Je n'y vais pas parce que je n*ai plus d1argent. ou pourquoi quand comment 3. On va a 1* eglise le dimanche. pourquoi comment oii quand k. Ma soeur va tres bien. ou quand pourquoi comment
3) After the student is told that the sentence he
is to read answer the questions who and where,
he is asked to write below the sentences the
word or words that answer the questions.
1. Marie nous attend a la porte. 2. On trouve la jeune fille devant la porte. 3* Philippe invite ses amis a venir chez lui ecouter ses disques.
Phrase mots qui disent: qui ou 1. 276
2. Comprehension with a purpose - The short narrative quoted
below was taken from Unit 8 of the A-LM Level One text
and will be used throughout the following section to
illustrate the techniques listed. It is important to
remember that not all of these exercises will be used
with every single narrative read. The same narrative is
used here for the sake of economy and to illustrate the
unlimited possibilities that six lines of narrative can
provide. The very last line of this narrative is the
invention of this author and an addition that he has
found useful with his classes.
Yvonne et Francois sortent de chez Yvonne pour aller au bal de 1'Scole. Yvonne demande a Franyois s'il aime danser. II ripond que ca ne l'int§resse pas. nMoi non plus," dit la jeune fille. Elle lui demande s'il aimerait mieux aller au cinema. Franyois r&pond tout de suite que cette idSe lui plait beaucoup. Alors, ils s'en vont voir un film en ville. Une excellente soir&e!
a. Reading for the main idea - The main idea of a passage
can be brought out by conducting the following
activities:
l) Ask students to select the best title from
a list.
a. Le bal a l'ecole b. Une soirSe au cin&ma c. Les inter^ts de Franyois d. La danse 277
2) Ask students to select from a list of
sentences one that best expresses the
main idea of the paragraph.
a. Franjois n'aime pas danser. b. Les jeunes amis ont une bonne idle. c. Yvonne ne danse pas bien. d. Les jeunes amis vont voir un film parce qu'il n'aiment pas danser.
3) Ask students to find the sentence or sentences
in the passage that give the main idea. (Alors,
ils s 1en vont voir un film en ville. Une
excellente soir&e!)
k) Ask students to note any words or phrases that
might point to the main idea or conclusion:
T: Yvonne et Francois ont un probleme. Quel est leur probleme? S: Ils vont au bal, mais ils n'aiment pas danser. T: Ils trouvent une solution, n'est-ce pas? Trouvez la phrase qui nous donne la solution. S : Alors, ils s1en vont voir un film en ville. T: Quel mot dans cette phrase marque l'arrivee de la solution, de la conclusion? S: le mot alors. k* Relating supporting details to central thoughts
1) Ask students to decide whether there are
enough details given in the passage to
justify a given statement. For example, are
there enough details in the above narrative to
support these statements? 278
a. Les bals a l'&cole ne sont pas intferessants. b. Frangois n'aime pas Yvonne. C'est pourquoi il n'a pas envie d'aller au bal. c. Le film leur pla4t beaucoup. d. Yvonne et Francois vont au m£tae lycle.
2) Ask students to tell which in a series of
questions are answered in the text and which
are not.
1. Qu'est-ce qui plait a Franjois? 2. Pourquoi Yvonne sort-elle avec Francois? 3. Quel film vont-ils voir en ville? b. Quels amis vont-ils rencontrer apres le film?
3) Ask students to list details under main categor
ies such as characters' names, actions, or the
main object or place being described. An
example with the above narrative might be to
have the students list under the names of
Yvonne and Franjois the sentences that tell
what she likes and what he dislikes:
Yvonne aime: Francois n'aime pas,:.
les bals a l'lcole. Francois. danser. aller au cinSma avec Francois, les films. les filles qui aiment danser. les garjons qui aiment les films.
^f) Ask students to fill in this outline based on
the above narrative which helps to show the
relationship between details and main ideas. 279
La Soir&e de Francois et d'Yvonne
I. Yvonne et Francois sortent de chez . II. Ils ont 1*intention d'aller au _. Ils n'ont pas envie d'y aller. Ils discutent. A. La conversation 1. Yvonne demande a Francois s'il ______. 2. II rSpond que ga ______. 3. La jeune fille dit, ______. *f. Elle lui demande s'il ______. 5. Francois rfepond que ______. B. La dlcisxon: Ils dScident qu'ils n'aiment pas ____ et qu'ils aimeraient mieux ______. III. Ils s'en vont ______. IV. Ils passent une excellente______.
5) Ask students to cite cause and effect relations
that are evident. Students can be asked to state
the causes when effects are given or the effects
when the causes are noted.
T: ;Lisez les phrases suivantes et dites pourquoi ceci ou cela arrive ou le resultat de ce qui arrive.
1. Yvonne demande a Francois s'il aimerait mieux aller au cinSma. 2. Yvonne dit qu'elle n'aime pas danser. 3. Les deux amis ne vont pas au bal.
6) Ask students to make several smaller sentences
from a longer more complicated sentence contain
ing several ideas. For example with the first
sentence in the above narrative, students could
make the following sentences:
Yvonne et Frangois sortent de chez Yvonne pour aller au bal de l'Scole. Yvonne sort de chez elle. Frangois sort avec elle. Ils vont au bal ensemble. Le bal est a l ’lcole.
7) Ask the students to list the sentences in the
narrative that help prove a given point. To
prove the point that Francois does not like
to dance, the students could list these
sentences:
1. £a ne l'interesse pas. 2. II rlpond tout de suite que l 1idle d'aller au cinlma lui pla^t beauooup. 3. II ne vas pas au bal; il va voir un film.
8) Ask students to find all the sentences in the
text that will help answer a certain question
covering a certain main point. The sentences
below might be given as evidence in support of
an affirmative answer to this question:
Est-ce que Frangois est tou.jours d 1accord avec Yvonne?
Oui, 1. Le bal ne l’intlresse pas. Yvonne non plus. 2. L'idle d’Yvonne plait beaucoup a Frangois.
Following the sequence and organization of the selection
1) Ask students to identify such elements as the
introduction, build-up, and ending of a story.
This can be done with the simplest of narra
tives by 281
a) Matching story parts with a skeletal
rlsuml of the narrative:
Resume Parties de l'histoire
1. Ils sortent a. la progression de chez Yvonne. 2. Ils parlent. b. la conclusion 3. Ils s'en vont c. 1*introduction voir un film.
b) Having students list in order of occurrence
and by number the details that are given in
each part of the story:
Introduction Progression Conclusion 1, 3, 7, 9 2 , 4, 5 6, 8, 10
1. les noms des personnages, 2. de quoi ils parlent, 3- d*ou ils sortent, 4. questions et rlponses, 5- 1'idSe d'Yvonne, 6. la decision, 7* ou ils sont quand ils parlent, 8. description de la soirle, 9* pourquoi ils sortent, 10. ou on va voir le film.
2) Ask students to arrange in order sentences as
they occur in the story.
3) Ask students to note word clues that mark
progression. In this story which is a conversa
tion put into narrative form, we have the words
demande - rlpond which take us from sentence to
sentence. To illustrate this progression,
students might be asked to put the words demande,
rlpond, or dit in the blanks below and then
learn the dialogue which has been adapted from
the narrative. Yvonne _____ a Frangois: Tu aimes danser? Frangois : Ca ne m'int&resse pas beaucoup. Yvonne:_____ : Moi non plus. et puis elle lui : Est-ce que tu aimerais aller au cinema? Frangois _____ tout de suite: Cette idSe me plaa)t beaucoup.
Retaining what is read - Students will retain better what they have to read if they have a purpose for reading and have been properly motivated for the experience. How can a reading assignment be intro duced so that maximum retention will be assured?
The following suggestions are offered:
1) The new vocabulary may be taught in such a way
as to arouse the student's interest. The words
danser and soiree are the new words in the
narrative that has been used in this section.
The lesson to teach these words and at the same
time to introduce the reading might go like this:
T: (Showing visual of two people dancing) Frangois et Yvonne vont a un bal a l'§cole. (Pointing to picture) Ils dansent. (Pointing to Frangois who has a sour look on his face) Frangois n'aime pas danser. (Students repeat these sentences and are asked questions.) T: Frangois et Yvonne vont passer une soiree ensemble. Une soir&e est une reunion le soir pour danser, jouer aux cartes, voir des amis. (Students are asked questions to drill the word soiree.) T: Frangois et Yvonne au bal. Frangois n'aime pas danser. Ils vont passer une bonne soiree ou une mauvaise soiree? Qu'en pensez-vous? (Students can make conjectures at this point or can begin to read.) 283
2) If students are given something specific to
look for while reading, they are likely to read
with more interest and better retention. They
might be asked to look for all the descriptive
words that describe an important character,
place, or objeci^ to search for an important
metaphor, or to read from a certain point of
view. The following presentation is an example
of how the author has introduced the first
chapter of Le Petit Prince:
T: (Showing picture of the serpent digesting the elephant which looks like a hat to grown-ups) Quand il Stait petit, I1auteur de ce livre dessinait beaucoup. Voici un de ses premiers dessins qu'il a fait a l'£ge de six ans. II a montrS son chef-d'oeuvre aux grandes personnes et il leur a demandS': "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" Maintenant. je vous pose la m#me question. Prenez un petit morceau de papier et Scrivez votre rSponse. Mais attendez. Ecrivez comme une grande personne. Tous les Sieves dans cette classe veulent #tre considSrSs aussi raisonnables que les adultes, n'est-ce pas? Choisissez bien votre rSponse. Et demain apres avoir lu ce que vous avez Scrit, je pourrai vous dire quels Sieves dans la classe sont grandes personnes, et quels Sieves sont t'oujours enfants. Ecrivez votre rSponse. (Ils Scrivent.) Maintenant mettez vos rf>onses dans cette caisse. (C'est la caisse a trois trous que 1'auteur dessine pour le Petit Prince dans le 2e chapitre - Les Sieves y mettent leurs rSponses.) Pour demain lisez le ler chapitre pour apprendre ce qu'ont dit les grandes personnes au sujet de ce dessin et pour apprendre si vous avez choisi la bonne rSponse. 28k
Interpretive and critical reading
1. Inference questions in the audio-1ingual stage - steps
in planning - The teacher must plan carefully for
student experiences in interpretation at this early
level. The following lesson is offered as an example
of the steps taken to prepare the student for this
type of questioning.
The situation in the fifth dialogue of the A-LM text
provides several opportunities for such questioning.
Two boys, Jean and Robert are going skiing. Jean has
new skis, but since Robert has none, he asks Jean to
lend him his old ones. Jean avoids the question by
asking if they are not too long. Robert responds
that they are not since he is the taller. Jean
reluctantly gives in with the sentence: "Well, all
right, but take it easy." An obvious inference that
can be made about this situation is that Jean does not
want to lend his old skis to Robert. And the students
have had the vocabulary and the structure to enable
them to say this: Jean ne veut pas (or: n'a pas envie)
de prater ses vieux skis a. Robert. To get this answer
the student will need to be taken through a series of
carefully designed questions, all within his linguistic
capacity in the language. The questioning might proceed
in this way. 285
T: La neige est belle et on a envie de faire du ski. Qu'est-ce qu'il vous faut pour faire du ski? (Showing picture of snow and skis.) S: de la neige et des skis. T: (Showing pictures of Jean with two pairs of skis and Robert with none.) Qui a des skis et qui n'en a pas? S: Jean a des skis. Robert n'en a pas. T: Jean a deux paires de skis. Pourquoi? S: II a ses vieux skis at ses skis neufs. T: Robert n'a pas de skis et Jean en a deux paires. Alors, qu'est-ce que Robert demande a Jean? S: "Tu me prates tes vieux skis alors?" T: Et que demande Jean? S: "Ils ne sont pas trop longs?" T: Est-ce qu'il rSpond a la question de Robert? C'est une question ou une r&ponse - "Ils ne sont pas trop long?" S: II ne repond pas. C'est une question. T: Mais lesskis ne sont pas trop longs. Pourquoi? S: Robert est plus grand que Jean. T: Enfin Jean est d'accord. Mais pourquoi ne r&pond-il pas tout de suite a la question de Robert? Pourquoi demande-t-il: "Ils ne sont pas trop longs?" quand Robert est le plus grand? Et pourquoi dit-il "Vas-y doucement?" S: II. n'a pas envie de prater ses vieux skis. II n'aime pas l'idee de Robert.
The same narrative used in the previous section will be used in this section on interpretive reading to Illustrate types of exercises and questioning procedures. The purpose for using this simple text is to emphasize the fact that such techniques can be used with the most elementary material. Frequently activities based on _Le Petit Prince will be used to illustrate more advanced techniques that are not always adaptable to elementary levels. 286
2. Seeing relationships in interpretive reading
a. Noting and explaining character reactions and
interactions:
1) In the short narrative about Yvonne and
Francois, Yvonne takes the initiative because
Francois is the timid,retiring type. This
interaction can be brought out by the follow
ing questions:
T: C'est Frangois ou Yvonne qui pose les questions? S: C'est Yvonne. T: C'est Frangois ou Yvonne qui propose l'id&e d'aller au cin§ma? S : C'est Yvonne. T:' Yvonne, elle manque de courage? Elle est timide ou courageuse? S: Courageuse. T: et Frangois? S: II est timide.
2) To review the interactions between the little
prince and the various inhabitants of the planets
he visits and also to show the similarity and
difference in the vices of each of the characters,
the author has found the following exercise to
be useful:
T: Imaginez que le m£me dialogue qui s'est produit entre le buveur et le petit prince se reproduit entre le petit prince et les personnages suivants. Que diraienlrriLs? Compl^tezles dialogues.
Que fais-tu la? dit-il au buveur. " " a M. Cramoisi. " " au vaniteux. 287
Que fais-tu la? dit-il au roi. " " au pilote. " M a la rose.
Je bois, rSpondit le buveur, d'un air lugubre , rlpondit M. Cramoisi, d'un air ______, r&pondit le vaniteux d'un air ______, rfepondit le roi d'un air _, rSpondit le pilote, d'un air , rSpondit la rose, d'un air _
Pourquoi bois-tu? deraanda le petit prince au buveur ? " a M. Cramoisi. ? » au vaniteux. 9 H au roi. ? " au pilote. ~ 9 II a la rose.
Pour oublier, r&pondit le buveur. ______, r§pondit M. Cramoisi. ______, r&pondit le vaniteux. ______, rlpondit le roi. ______, r&pondit le pilote. ______, rSpondit la rose.
b. Noting character development through the relationship
of events.
1) The deception of the rose is not clearly exposed
to the little prince until he enters the rose
garden. At this point the students are asked to
recall all the ways in which she deceived him
in this exercise. In parentheses are possible
student responses.
Les mensonges de la rose
Elle lui avait racont& qu'elle £tait seule de son espece dans l'univers. "• " " " (qu'elle est n&e en mgmetemps que le soleil)~ ' " " " " (qu'elle a connu d'autres mondes). it it n it (qu'elle ne craignait rien des tigres). ii ii it ii (qu'elle ne regrettait pas son depart). 288
2) The following exercise is intended to help
students see what has Contributed to the
growth and development of the wisdom of the
little prince: Finissez les phrases:
Les lecons du Petit Prince
1. Un aiguilleur de chemin de fer lui apprend que les hommes ______. 2. Le renard lui apprend que pour etre amis il faut ■■______. 3* Les humbles travaux de l'allumeur qui s'occupe d'autre chose que de lui-meme montrent au petit prince que . 4. Le gfsographie lui apprend que si on va se rendre compte de la rSalitS il faut ______. 5. Le vaniteux lui apprend que les hommes n'entendent que ______. 6. Le buveur lui montre le monde triste de
• 7. Le roi l'aide a comprendre un principe tres important de 1'autoritS, que ______. 8. Le businessman lui apprend qu'il ne faut pas vivre pour 1'argent, mais pour ______. etc. c. Finding the real motives behind characters' actions.
2) In the simple narrative used throughout this
section Yvonne asks Francois if he likes to
dance. When he says that it doesn't interest
him, she says that she doesn't like it either.
What are her real motives? Does she really not
like to dance or is she really only trying to
please Francois? Why does she ask him the
question in the first place? Is it because she
senses that he doesn't want to go? To bring 289
out these real motives the following questions
can be asked at this level - all within the range
of the student's linguistic knowledge:
T: Pourquoi Yvonne demande-t-elle a Francois s'il airae danser? S: Parce qu'on va au bal. T: Oui, mais on ne va pas au bal si on n'aime pas danser. Elle regarde Frangois et qu'est-ce qu'elle voit? Un gargon tres gai qui va beaucoup s'amuser? S: II n'est pas tres gai, sans doute. II ne va pas tres bien. T: Quand il rSpond que ga ne l'intlresse pas, que dit Yvonne? S: "Moi non plus." T: En g&nSral, est-ce que les jeunes filles de son Hge aiment danser? S: Oui, beaucoup. T: Et si Frangois r&pond qu'il aime danser, donnez-moi la reponse d'Yvonne. S: "Moi aussi." T: Voila! Pourquoi Yvonne dit-elle "Moi non plus" - - parce qu'elle n'aime pas danser ou parce qu'elle veut plaire a Frangois? S: Elle veut plaire a Frangois.
2) To help students discover the reasons behind the
little prince's voyage to earth, they are given
statements from the text and are asked in what
way these sentences reveal his motives. Possible
student responses are indicated in parentheses:
Qu'est-ce que le petit prince cherche sur la Terre? Quelles reponses ces phrases suggerent-elles?
1. Dessine-moi un mouton. (un mouton qui mangeraient les baobabs.) 2. II croyait ne jamais devoir revenir. (II s'enfuit de la rose.) 290 3- Je n'aurais jamais cHf m'enfuir. Mais j'etais trop jeune pour savoir 1'aimer. (II cherche quelqu'un qu'il puisse aimer.) *f. En quoi peut-il bien t'intSresser? A quoi cela te sert-il? (II cherche une explication des choses, de la vie.) 5. Le petit prince n'avait jamais de sa vie renoncl a une question, une fois qu'il l'avait posSe. (II cherche des rfeponses a ses questions.)
Identifying conflicts and understanding outcomes in terms of the characters' thoughts and actions. The author has used the following exercise to identify some of the conflicts of the characters in Le Petit
Prince. In parentheses are examples of students' responses that have been given.
T: Le roi a dit: II est bien plus difficile de se juger soi-m£me que de juger autrui. II aurait pu dire aussi: II est bien plus difficile de donner des ordres que d'obSir. En vous servant de la meme structure (II est bien plus difficile de ______que de ), que dit . . . S: (a) Le petit prince: Til est bien plus difficile d'aimer la rose que de s'enfuir.) (b) Le pilote: (II est bien plus difficile de laisser a cOte' la carriere de peintre que de donner des explications.) (c) Le businessman: (II est bien plus difficile de compter les Stoiles que de les poss&der.) (d) la rose: (II est bien plus difficile de deman der pardon que d'infliger des remords.)
Indicating the effect that certain actions or events in a story have on characters. The following exer cise with £5i_ clauses, helps the student review some of these relationships in Le Petit Prince; Le petit prince: Si j'avais cinquante-trois minutes a dlpenser, je marcherais tout doucement vers une fontaine. L'auteur: Si je pouvais marcher tout doucement vers une fontaine, moi aussi, je serais heureux.
1. Si la fleur du petit prince voyait le jardin des roses, ______. 2. Si le roi ne donnait pas d'ordres raisonnables,
3. Si le buveur n'avait pas honte, ______. k. Si le g&ographe quittait son bureau, ______Le renard: Si tu m'apprivoises, . 6. Le serpent: Si tu regrettes trop ta planete, etc.
Relating form and content.
l) Students are given an awareness of the tender
moving, familiar tone of Chapter VI by changing
the following narrative to the monologue which
is the actual text of the chapter in which the
author is addressing the little prince. In
other words, the author who is talking about the
little prince in this passage will be talking
to him, and all third person forms will be
changed to second person familiar forms.
J'ai compris, peu a peu, ainsi, sa petite vie melancolique. II n1avait eu longtemps pour distraction que la douceur des couchers de soleil. J'ai appris ce dStail nouveau, le quatrieme jour au matin, quand il m'a dit qu'il aimait bien les couchers de soleil et qu'il voulmt aller en voir un. Je lui ait 292
dit qu'il fallait attendre. II a eu l1air tres surpris d'abord, et puis il a ri de lui-m£me en me disant qu'il suffisait de tirer sa chaise de quelques pas sur sa petite planfcte. Et il regardait le crlpuscule chaque fois qu'il le dfesirait.
2) In the following exercise the students are
asked to review content through the author's
use of simile.
Les Comparaisons
Les phrases suivantes sont coup&es en deux. K&unissez-les en fecrivant dans le tiret le numSro convenable.
1. Si tu m'apprivoises, ma vie a. comme un bracelet d'or sera 2. Ton pas m'appellera hors du __b. comme si, brusquement, terrier toutes les Itoiles s'Steignaient. 3- Les cheveux du petit prince c . comme d'un tabouret. sont k. II se servait du volcan __d. comme ensoleillSe. Steint 5. Le serpent s'enroule autonr e. comme si j'avais et§ de la cheville du petit frapp£ par la foudre. prince 6. Tu es une dr'S’le de b£te, __f. comme une musique. mince 7. Les grandes personnes se __ g. comme les coquelicots. croient importantes 8. Les mouvements de cette h. comme s'il faisait arm&e &taient r&gles naitre une Stolle de plus, ou une fleur. 9* Quand il allume son rSver- __i. comme des Sglises. bere, c'est 10. Les Sruptions volcaniques __ j. comme le blS dorS. sont 11. Elle ne voulait pas sortir __k. comme un doigt. toute fripee 12. Si le mouton mange la fleur, _1 . comme ceux d’tun ballet c'est pour le petit prince d' opSra. 13- Les baobabs ne sont pas des _m. comme des feux de arbustes, mais des arbres, chemin&e. grands l^f. J'ai saute sur mes pieds n. comme des baobabs. 293
3. Making inferences and predictions
a. Inferring other facts about characters, places,
and events in the story that are not given accord
ing to what is already known.
1) The narrative about Frangois and Yvonne opens
as they are leaving her house. Obviously,
Francois went into the house to get Yvonne.
What took place while he was in the house?
These questions can elicit conjectures from
students:
T: Ou esti-ce que Frangois va chercher Yvonne? S: II va chez Yvonne. T: Est-ce qu'il entre ou est-ce qu'il 1'attend a la porte? S: II entre. T: Qu'est-ce qui arrive chez elle quand. il entre? Est-ce qu'il attend? Est-ce qu'il parle avec quelqu'un? Que fait Yvonne? S: Yvonne prSsente Frangois a sa mere et a son pere. (Students have not had the word parents yet.)
2) Using the same sentence structure, students are
asked to show how other characters would have
ended the sentence had they spoken it:
Ce que j'aime dans la vie, c'est dormir, dit l'allumeur. " " " ______, dit le roi. u " , dit la rose. ii ii , dit le businessman'. ii ti , dit le buveur. it it , dit le vaniteux. 29k
b. Recognizing theme and implying the author's intent,
l) The following reading exercise based on the first
few chapters of Le Petit Prince, serves to
contrast what is important ("ce qui est
important") with what is really trivial, but
often considered important to adults who
don't understand life. Students are instructed
to start the sentence with any phrase in
column I, follow it by "est plus important
que," and terminate the sentence with any one
of the phrases in column II.
La guerre des moutons et /les additions de M. Cramoisi. des fleurs/ L'amitiS d'une fleur /le boulon trop serrS du unique au monde? est moteur. Une fleur en danger/ plus /les choses sSrieuses des important grandes personnes. Un mouton qui mange des que /une panne dans le dSsert. fleurs/ Le mystere des Spines/ /la soif et la mort.
2) Matching exercises are effective where conflicting
ideologies or themes are compared. In the follow
ing exercise students are to give statements
under column II which are equivalent to the
ones listed under the first column. 295
Ceux qui corirprennent la vie / Ceux qui ne comprennent pas la vie
1. Ils se moquent bien des / 1. (Ils aiment les chiffres.) numlros. 2. Ils sont lucides. Ils / 2. savent voir les moutons a travers les caisses et les £l&phants a travers les serpents. 3. Ils paylent de serpents / 3. boa, de for£ts vierges, d'Stoiles et ils posent des questions sur 1'essentiel. k. Ils sont tres indulgents / k. envers les grandes personnes. Ils se mettent a la portle des grandes personnes. 3- Ils croient l'astronome / 5. turc a cause de sa grande demonstration.
3) The following exercise shows how one theme may
be illustrated by numerous examples in the text.
Students are to comment on each example:
Expliquez ce qui fait la beaute (1) des etoiles pour le petit prince, pour le pilote. (2) du desert pour le petit prince et pour le pilote. (3) des champs de ble pour le renard. (k) de la couleur du sable pour le pilote. (5) d'une maison pour 1'auteur. (6) du bruit des pas pour le renard. (7) de I'eau bonne pour le coeur.
Recognizing symbols and giving them meaning - Encourag
ing students to go beyond the literal representation
of things to discover in them their symbolic signifi
cance, if any. The rose in Le_ Petit Prince is a very 296
meaningful symbol, mainly perhaps because of the
many varying interpretations that can be given to
her. One interpretation of the rose which the
author feels is important is the representation of
the rose as the inseparable combination of pain and
pleasure. The meaning of this symbol is brought out
easily in the discussion of Chapter XX in which the
little prince enters the flower garden and discovers
that his flower is a rose and one among many.
T: Saviez-vous que la fleur du petit prince fetait une rose avant de lire ce chapitre? S: Oui bien sflt, c'est une rose. II l'appelle sa rose. T: Mais non! L 1auteur ne dit jamais "rose;" il parle toujours de la fleur du petit prince. Malgrfe le fait que l 1auteur ne mentionne pas que c'est une rose, tout le monde sait qu'il s'agit d'une rose avant de lire ce chapitre. Quels sont les characferistiques de cette fleur qui nous montrent que ja doit £tre une rose? S: Elle est dfelicate, elle a des Opines, elle est belle, femouvante, tres coquette et ffeminine. T: II y a un proverbe en franjais qui'. dit: "II n'y a pas de rose sans fepines." Qu'est-ce que ja veut dire? S: II n'y a pas de plaisir sans peine. T: Quel est le rapport entre ce proverbe et la rose du Petit Prince? S: La rose du petit prince le fait souffrir, lui inflige des remords mais en m§me temps elle lui: pla^t enormfement. d. Deciding what the attitude of the author is toward
the reader and his subject. This can be established
from the very beginning in reading Le Petit Prince
by reading the preface in which the author identifies his audience and makes a formal dedication and the
passage in Chapter III in which he indicates his
attitude toward the subject when he says: J'aurais
aim! commencer cette histoire a la fa^on des contes
de f&es. . . . Pour ceux qui comprennent la vie,
ja aurait eu l 1air beaucoup plus vrai." (pjx 10-11)
Reacting and developing appreciations a. Identifying with situations or characters. In the
following discussion of Chapter II of the Little Prince
a number of personal questions are asked to bring out
personal reactions to and appreciations of the ideas
and feelings expressed in the text.
T: Pourquoi ce petit gar con a-t-il d{i dessiner l'int&rieur du serpent? S : Pour que les grandes personnes puissent comprendre. T: Oui, elles ne comprennent jamais rien toutes seuies. Pourquoi est-ce fatigant pour les enfants? S: Les enfants doivent toujours leur donner des explications. T: Quelles explications faut-il que vous donniez toujours aux grandes personnes? a vos parents? S: (a) Je dois tout expliquer a mes parents. Ils ne comprennent rien. (b) Je dois expliquer aux grandes personnes pourquoi j'aime les disques de______. Les grandes personnes sont trop sSrieuses. (c) Je ne donne pas d1explications aux grandes personnes parce qu'elles ne comprennent rien. T: Quelle cariere 1'auteur a-t-il abandonn! a l'stge de six ans? S: II a abandonn! la carriere de peintre. T: Qu'est-ce que les grandes personnes lui ont conseillfe de faire? S: De laisser de cSt£ des dessins et de s'interesser a ses Studes. T: Quels conseils est-ce que les grandes personnes vous donnent? S: (a) Elles me conseillent d'Studier. (b) Elles me conseillent de prendre les choses au slrieux. (c) Elles me conseillent de garder mon argent. (d) Elles me conseillent d ’etre sage. T: Quelle carriere avez-vous voulu faire a l'&ge de six ans? S: (a) J'ai voulu #tre mldecin, infirmiere, cowboy, professeur, etc. (b) Je n'avais pas encore choisi de carriere. T: Avez-vous abandonnS cette cerriere? Pourquoi? S: (a) Non, je ne l'ai pas abandonnfee. (b) Oui, parce que je n'ai plus d*ambition. (c) Oui, parce que je veux gagner beaucoup d 1argent. (d) Oui, parce que mes parents veulent que je sois ______.
Recognizing and appreciating devices for story
development.
The technique of foreshadowing is indicated in this brief discussion of part of Chapter XXV of the
Little Prince:
T: Quels projets le petit prince a-t-il que le pilote ignore? S: II va partir. T: Est-ce qu'il ignore vraiment ses projets? II y a bien des expressions dans ce chapitre qui nous montre que 1'auteur se prepare pour le chagrin de son dSpart. Pouvez-vous en trouver quelques unes? S: J'eusse de la peine, j'eus le coeur serri, j'Sprouvai un chagrin bizarre, je n'&tais pas rassurel, on risque de pleurer.
Recognizing values in themes and reacting to them.
Chapter XXII is one chapter which lends Itself particularly well to reacting to themes and their
values:
T: D'apres l'aiguilleur que font les hommes? Pourquoi sont-ils presses? Que cherchent ils? 299
S: Ils ne savent pas ce qu'ils cherchent. II tournent en rond. T: Et dans les trains, que font-ils? Que font les enfants? S: Les homraes dorment - les enfants Scrasent leur nez contre les vitres. T: Pourquoi les enfants savent-ils ce qu'ils cherchent? S: Parce qu'ils perdent du temps pour une pouple de chiffons, et elle devient tres importante. T: Comment ce chapitre nous dScrit-il la condition humaine.? S: L'homme est malheureux. II ne voit plus que le monde materiel. II va et vient et ne trouve jamais 1'essential. II n'y a plus de beautS dans son monde et il ne §#it plus ou la trouver. T: Croyez-vous que 1*auteur suggere une solution dans ce chapitre? Laquelle? S: Oui, les grandes personnes ont oubli& les valeurs importantes de la vie. Pour les retrouver ils doivent redevenir enfants. "Seuls les enfants savent ce qu'ils cherchent," dit 1'auteur. T: Que pensez-vous de cette solution? S: Je crois que c'est valable parce que les enfants n'ont pas perdu leur imagination, cette fra£cheur de coeur qui leur permettent de voir l'essentiel, ce qui est beau, ce qui est important. BIBLIOGRAPHY 301
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